After Dusk
by GringaLoca
Summary: Leah Call moves to the Alakan Panhandle and discovers who she really is.
1. Ch1: Goodbye to My Home, My Sun, My Tan

**1. Goodbye to My Home, My Sun... My Tan**

I waded into the shallow pool; my last swim before I was shipped off to the cold, rainy Indian village of Tyonek against my will.

I was going to live with my grandparents in the cold state of Alaska. It wasn't the move I was dreading, I'd been shipped around more than an Army kid.

Mom and I had lived in Portland till I was nine, and I had spent every summer at the place I was being exiled to now, the Tyonek Village on Revillagigedo Island on the Alaska panhandle, only accessible by air.

My mom is a singer, and she'd been hired at countless clubs and hotels in the past eight years. She had her dream job, so that meant packing up and moving out at every offer, no matter how far away. We'd lived in 5 different states before Mom got a job at a little café in southern California.

It had been hard to get used to the dry, blazing heat, but I'd grown to love it. We had a nice apartment with a pool, and I loved my school. It was mostly Mexicans, but I didn't care, I blended in with my dark hair and skin.

We'd been in the dry, beautiful state for three years, the longest I'd ever stayed anywhere, apart from Portland. And now, yet again, I was being cruelly torn away from my friends, and what I had grown to consider home.

Mom and Dad had met in college and eloped. A month later Mom found out that she was pregnant and "Dad" took off, never to be heard from again. I'd never met him.

I dove under, and came up a few seconds later. My waist length hair flowed out gracefully behind me. I jumped out of the cool water and laid on my towel, face up, letting the sun's bright rays dry my wet body. I would miss this, the relaxing feeling of my stress evaporating with the water off my skin.

A few minutes later I gathered my things together and took off through the parking lot to our building on the far west side of the property. I walked into the small apartment, weaving through the piles of packing boxes that filled the tiny living room, and went straight to the bathroom to shower.

I stepped out of the shower and stared at myself in the small mirror. My dad was Tebughna Native American and my mom Irish. I had my dad's dark skin and hair, but my mom's green eyes and light freckles; an unattractive combination in my opinion. I would on no scale consider myself pretty, but I supposed things could be worse.

I dressed quickly and took one last look at my room. It was tiny, but I would miss it. With a sigh, I grabbed my bag and shut the door. Mom gave me an apologetic look as I plodded into the living room. I was unhappy, that I couldn't hide, but I was trying to make the situation as easy for her as possible. I wasn't moping yet, that would kick in at Gram's.

We stepped out into the hot, dry heat. I turned my face up to the morning sun for the last time. I sighed and climbed into the passenger's side of the old pickup. Neither of us said anything on the way to the airport. My flight left today, nonstop to a small private airport in Ketchikan some 45 miles from Tyonek. Gramps was coming to pick me up and I was not looking forward to the awkward hour long car ride.

It was not till we neared the exit for the airport that Mom started making sure I had everything I would need for the next ten months. She stopped at the drop off zone and unloaded my one duffle bag from the truck bed. She gave me one long hug before telling me that she loved me and sending me off to check in. I had an hour before my flight left.

I walked up to the tall counter and checked my bag, then made my way through security and to my gate. I settled into one of the hard, uncomfortable seats, too depressed to eat or look for a magazine to read on the plane.

I had tried not to act too upset around Mom, I really didn't want to hurt her feelings; she was going after what she wanted, and I was proud of her for that.

I sat alone, wondering what the coming months would be like. I was sure it would take me a while to get used to the weather. I wasn't thrilled about the sunless sky. If there was anything I remembered about Tyonek from my childhood memories, it was that the sun made an appearance about three times a month, if even that. I felt even more depressed just thinking about it.

I continued to fill my head with depressing thoughts till my flight was announced. I boarded the plane, put my bag under the seat in front of me, and laid my head back, closing my eyes; praying that I would survive the next dismal months of rain and clouds.

I jolted awake as the plane hit the pavement. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had slept the whole flight. I started gathering my things together, making sure I had my one carry-on with me, ready to quickly exit the almost empty plane. I wasn't surprised by the lack of people traveling; who would want to come to an area as oppressive as southeastern Alaska?

I made my way to baggage claim and waited patiently for my oversized duffle. I didn't have to wait long. I snatched it off the small conveyer belt and wondered over towards the door. I thought about waiting outside, but a quick investigation revealed that it was drizzling, so migrated over to a lonely bench near the glass doors.

The minutes passed till they piled up into a half hour. I rolled my tongue across my teeth, a nervous habit. _Where could they be_? They knew I was coming, they kept telling Mom how excited they were to be able to see me again.

I hadn't seen my grandparents since I was nine, I; however, was not as ecstatic as they were. I loved then and all, but they hadn't been too involved in my life since I was little. The only contact we had with them was when they sent a check on my birthday and Christmas, with a card inviting me to come and stay with them for a while.

Suddenly, a gust of arctic air burst through the doors, followed by a calm, unruffled Gramps.

Gramps has always been quiet, keeping to himself; I was kind of like him in that way. When I was little, I used to be scared of his serious attitude.

Gramps was a short, round old man, about three inches taller than me, with long black and grey hair that he kept in a braid a little past his shoulders. He was wearing a big, cream colored zip-up sweater, with a red flannel shirt underneath, old jeans, and… _moccasins_.

I laughed quietly to myself.

He turned to his left, and smiled an aged, crooked smile when he saw me.

"Leah!" he called, motioning for me to come over to him. I was pleased to find that he sounded genuinely happy to see me. I stood up, and walked slowly towards him.

When I reached him, he took my duffle and reached over to give me an awkward hug.

"Leah Catori Call," he said, using my full name and shaking his head in disbelief, "My, you've grown!" he commented.

I smiled and nodded, "Yeah, Gramps, it's been a long time."

He gave me another awkward hug and then led the way outside. I was surprised when he led me over to an old Chevy Pickup, idling in the parking lot.

"Uh, Gramps… what happened to the Trooper?" I asked, confused.

For as long as I could remember Gramps had driven an old, maroon colored '90 Isuzu Trooper. I loved that car, I used to get home at the end of every summer and tell Mom that was the car I wanted when I grew up.

"Oh, well, she kinda wheezed her last breath a few years back, and I haven't been able to get her fixed yet," Gramps explained.

_Great_ I thought to myself, _No car._

As we neared the truck, I saw a figure move in the front seat.

"Who's driving?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh, that's Joe Earley," he explained, "He offered to drive us. His grandkids are about your age." he added.

He threw my duffle in the covered truck bed and climbed into the cab. I shook the water out of my hair as Gramps officially introduced me to Joe. I smiled politely and then sat back. It was warm inside the truck, so I slipped off my rain jacket and laid it next to me on the seat.

I had been mentally preparing myself for this car ride for weeks, now with Gramps' friend here, all I had to do was relax. Maybe this wouldn't be so weird after all. I tried to listen to their conversation, but I couldn't follow along with all the fishing terms, so I quickly gave up.

Instead, I gazed out the window at the dark green trees racing by. I thought about the heat I was leaving behind, and Mom. How was she going to survive alone? But there was nothing I could do. I was stuck here for the next ten months, it would be better to not worry about things that were out of my hands.

Suddenly, we burst out of the trees, and the road stopped. Instead, we were driving on rocky ground, with the misty beach in front of us, only about fifteen yards away. There was no denying the beauty of the fog over the dark water.

It was overcast, and windy, but the rain had stopped. The truck drifted to the left, and pulled up in front of a lonely little green house. I jumped awkwardly out onto the wet ground and grabbed my duffle out of the back. Gramps talked with Joe through the window as the truck idled.

I stood by the back of the truck for a moment, not sure what to do or where to go, before walking towards the old, weathered door. I got to it, and stood there, watching Gramps, wondering if I should just walk in or wait for him.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the white lace curtain in the window to my left flutter. A second later the door opened and Gram's arms were wrapped around me. This hug was not as awkward as the one I had shared with Gramps.

I had always gotten along with Gram. We understood each other.

Gram was, like Gramps, quiet and shy. She was a short little old woman, with dark grey hair weaved into a thick braid down to her backside. She had a wide nose, yet it fit her face perfectly. Everything about her was petite. She was the type of person that you couldn't help but love instantly.

"Leah! My you've grown." She exclaimed as she took a step back to examine me.

I chuckled. "So I've heard."

She laughed under her breath as she reached for my carry-on, a big slouchy purse. She glanced over to Gramps who was engrossed in his conversation with Joe, and led me into the one story two-bedroom house. The small house was exactly as I had remembered it.

To the right was the small, cramped, yet cozy living room. A long window stretched exactly halfway across the wall of the front of the house. The small TV was positioned at an angle in the left corner by the window, two antennas poking out the top.

To the left of the TV was the fireplace. In front of the fireplace at another angle was one armchair, a small, old couch facing the TV sat next to it, and then another armchair was tucked neatly into the corner to my right. A short bookshelf stretched across the wall under the window, completing the circle. Dead center of all this was the dark, wooden coffee table that Gramps had made himself.

Just behind the couch was an old antique desk that was piled with papers, opposite the desk was the small hallway that contained the doors to the two small bedrooms on the right, and the one bathroom and a small closet that held the washer and dryer on the left. The other end of the hallway opened into the "dining room".

The "dining room" was really a little kitchen nook that contained an old, square, oak table. Two sides of the table were a booth and two mis-matched chairs sat on the other sides. A window opened above one of the sides of the booth with the back door next to it.

The table was separated from the kitchen by a small counter with a row of cabinets hanging overhead. On the front wall of the house sat the sink and a little counter space located next to the fridge.

A small wall jetted out separating the kitchen from the tiny "entry way" that passed through back into the living room. Basically the house was a ring; you could walk through it in twenty seconds, tops.

Gram led me through the living room and down the hall to the room that was closest to the kitchen. It had one small window on the back wall of the house; the bed was against the wall to the right of the door, with a small table just barely fitting between it and the door. An old chest of drawers stood to the left, empty, and a beautiful antique desk sat under the window.

It was simple, peaceful. The walls were a beautiful chocolate brown, exactly as I had remembered it. The same lace curtains that were in the living room framed my small window that looked out into the woods.

I set my duffle on the bed, and Gram did the same with my purse.

"Well, this is it. Are you hungry, or tired? I was going to start lunch, but you can sleep if you want." Gram offered.

I was tired, but I was hungry too, so I opted for the food.

I followed Gram out my door to the small kitchen. I offered to help but she just shook her head and continued with her work. Instead, I leaned against the counter and asked her about my new home.

She told me a little bit about the where I would go to school, and the town. There was one convenience store, a gas station, a few tackle shops owned by several of Gramps' friends, a pizza shop, a diner, and a few more businesses.

We talked about the neighbors, or lack thereof, and church. Then Gram brought up the culture class held at my high school after school. I would get extra credit, and learn more about the Tebughna culture. Just the thought of have to do more school than necessary was disgusting, but I feigned interest so as not to hurt her feelings.

I had never been ashamed of my heritage, but I had never really been proud, or in touch with it either. Mom's grandparents came from Ireland, but she did nothing to push her culture on me, and I knew absolutely nothing about my dad's side of the family, and honestly, I didn't care. It was something I wouldn't consider especially interesting.

We talked for the next forty-five minutes or so, pausing only when Gramps came in and informed us that he would be in the family room. I heard the TV click on, and the static as he tried to arrange the antennas.

I pulled out the old, cracked pewter plates and set the table, chatting politely with Gram when necessary. Five minutes later, Gram called Gramps into the kitchen. We all three sat down at the small table, me in the booth, with Gram and Gramps in the two mis-matched chairs.

We ate in silence. After I had finished I stood up and gathered the plates and began to stack them. Gram tried to protest, but I insisted. I carried the pile over to the sink and began to wash. Gram thanked me and then continued to bustle about the house, making sure everything was in order.

Gramps got up and announced that he had a few errands to run. He kissed Gram, gave me an awkward smile, and then made his way to the door.

I thought while I washed. I missed Mom. I wondered what she was doing at the moment, when would be the next time I saw the sun I loved so much, and what kind of people I would meet here.

I finished the dishes faster than I thought I would, and then decided I would dry them. I finished everything, and made my way to my small room.

_Everything was tiny in this house,_ I thought to myself.

I turned my attention to the bag on my bed. I unzipped it and dug for my towel and bag of toiletries. I gathered them in my arms and took the two necessary steps to the bathroom.

I went first to the small closet located beside the door in the corner, but a quick glance was all I needed to see that there was no room for the contents of my makeup bag. I started the water and pulled the things I would need out of the small bag.

The hot water felt wonderful over my tense muscles; I was so sore from sitting all day. I took a little more time than necessary, not wanting to step out onto the cold tile, but I willed myself to turn off the water and start unpacking.

I wrapped my towel around me and grabbed my bag. I hopped across the hall into my cold room and shrugged into my sweatpants and a t-shirt. I combed out my long hair and left it to dry. I placed my bag of toiletries on the nightstand by the door, _easy to reach_ I thought to myself.

I stared at my big duffle, took a deep breath, and began to unpack. I pulled all my clothes out onto the bed and began to fold and place them in the big pine drawers. I glanced at the small battery operated alarm clock I had just unpacked, three o'clock. I was so tired; I wished time would speed up.

When I was about halfway through the pile on my bed I pulled the padded sleeve that contained my elderly laptop out of the bottom of my bag. I set it on the desk, not wanting to turn it on. It was a relic, and I knew it would take several minutes to turn on, and even longer to connect to the internet.

I turned my attention back to the now small pile of clothes. I worked at a steady pace, thinking as I went. I wondered about my friends and Mom, and what they were doing at the moment. As I continued thinking, I made myself more and more depressed. I kept up the pace until I had a full-on pity party. I quickly lost track of time, wrapped in my own misery.


	2. Ch2: I Make A Smashing First Impression

**2. I Make A **_**Smashing**_** First Impression.**

A horrendously off-tune ring sounded through the calm house, making me jump.

"Can you get the door, Leah?" Gram called from the kitchen. I dropped the stack of books I had been unpacking onto the bed.

Sure enough, as I passed through the tiny kitchen Gram was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. She threw me an apologetic look. I tried my best to offer a comforting smile. I was sure I failed. Another impatient ring echoed through the house. I reached the entry way before the annoying sound could die away. As soon as I opened the old pine door I lost my breath.

Before me stood two of the most beautiful people I had ever seen, a boy and a girl; both with silky black hair and smooth, russet skin. The boy was tall, that I noted instantly, but before I could bring my eyes up to see his face the girl interrupted.

"Leah! It's so good to see you!" Her voice was beautiful, even and melodic. The most spectacular thing I think I'd ever heard. My voice must sound like a chainsaw compared to hers.

"Um, hi," I replied lamely. Yup, the chainsaw analogy was accurate enough. "Do I know you?" I wondered out loud. I was positive I hadn't seen them before; surely I would've remembered such splendid faces.

I heard a soft chuckle escape the boy's mouth. For the first time I lifted my eyes up to his face, and immediately wished I hadn't.

I completely lost my train of thought. He was absolutely gorgeous. His shoulder-length black hair was loosely pulled into a rubber band at the nape of his neck; a few wisps of dark, silky hair framed his wonderful face.

His face was strong and firm; yet smooth and compassionate. I stole a glance at his almond shaped eyes. They were a marvelous shade of chocolate brown with streaks of gold and black; and they were looking right into mine.

I felt an uncanny need to be near him, to reach up and touch his face, and fall into his strong arms. I realized how stupid I was being and blushed. He smiled slightly as the color creeped higher up my face. I lost the breath I had just managed to recover. The girl replied to the question I forgot I had even asked.

"Actually, no, I've never met you, but my older sister Rebecca babysat you…" She rattled on but I couldn't focus. I couldn't bear to tear my eyes away from his. Suddenly, a blinding smile escaped his soft, perfect lips, flashing a pair of amazingly white, straight teeth.

"Sorry about Christi," He teased. I was wrong before, _his_ voice was the most spectacular thing I think I'd ever heard, low, warm, and comforting. I smiled, despite the self-pity I had felt just a few short moments ago. "She likes to talk… a lot," He continued.

I tore my eyes from his inhumanly gorgeous face just in time to see the girl, Christi, jab her elbow into his ribs. He laughed and casually hung his arm around her neck. Suddenly, Gram was behind me. I hadn't even noticed her till she invited them inside; I was too lost in his splendor. She gave me a reprimanding look that said I should've invited them in sooner. I had no—logical—excuse.

I smiled sheepishly at the two gorgeous people standing in my grandparent's living room; I muttered apologies, so quietly, I might as well have been talking to myself. My breath had finally found me again.

I decided that as long as I didn't look at his face too much I could still save some of my dignity. I nervously rolled my tongue across my bottom teeth.

He went to sit in the overstuffed chair by the fireplace, and Christi sat down on the couch, I decided I would allow myself to look at him only three times.

That was easier said than done.

As I sat down next to Christi on the couch, I realized that I didn't even know his name. Just when I thought had the courage worked up to say something, Gram got up and offered coffee. They both accepted and Gram, to my horror, bustled off to the kitchen leaving us alone. I gulped.

He looked completely at home, his long legs crossed, his hands behind his head. His beautiful features had settled themselves into a sly smile. His piercing eyes were again fixed on mine. Butterflies flew up my stomach, and it felt like they were going to burst out of my mouth any minute. His eyes glistened; the butterflies went wilder. Suddenly the breath flew out of me.

Crap! Ok, well, that was one. I only had two left.

Someone had to say something. The temptation was too much.

"So are you liking it here in Alaska?" Christi asked. I had a feeling that she was good at filling awkward silences.

"Um, I guess." I murmured, caught off-guard at the sudden question. I was careful to look at her as I responded.

"How long are you here for?" She continued.

"I'm not really sure. It depends."

"On what?" She asked; innocent curiosity filled her eyes.

What was with the 20 Questions?

"On whether or not my mom gets the job," I answered slowly and carefully. I caught her right as she opened her mouth to ask, what I was sure, would be another question. "She's trying to get accepted for a job in Canada. She's a singer, and there may be an opening at a cafe there. But they want to try it for a while before they make anything permanent. So I'm staying here with Gram and Gramps for the school year." I found it amazingly easy to talk to Christi.

I could feel his dark eyes on me.

"So um," I began awkwardly, "Are you two dating?" They both let out silvery laughs.

"No," the deep, warm voice answered. I looked up before I could stop myself. His dark eyes were full of amusement. "Christi's my sister." He replied, still chuckling. I felt my cheeks go hot and I rolled my tongue across my bottom teeth, looking at the stack of magazines on the coffee table in front of me.

"Oh! That's right, you wouldn't know. This is Taylor, my brother," Explained Christi. I shot her a grateful glance. Taylor held a crooked smile on his gorgeous face. Taylor, it was original, I liked it. Of course, he could've been named Yaakov and I probably would've liked it, as long as the name came with the gorgeous face.

"Do you go to school here in town?" I asked hopefully.

"Yup, Tebughna Tribal High School," She replied cheerfully. "Are you going there too?"

"Yeah," I replied, relieved that I would know at least two people.

Just then Gram came hurrying back into the room. In her hands was a big, wooden tray with old, chipped mugs stacked on top. A big pot of steaming coffee sat next to them along with a bowl piled high with sugar. She sat the tray down on the coffee table with an order to "Help yourselves", and then settled into the other chair to my right.

"How is your grandfather?" She began, looking at Taylor.

"Fine," He replied. "He said something about fishing with Billy today."

"Hmm," said Gram, almost to herself, "Maybe I'll send Sam over there later today when he gets home."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to see him…"

Their conversation droned on, but I was only half listening. I was trying to imagine what it would be like seeing him every day at school. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all…

Suddenly, Christi gracefully rose to her feet, bringing me back to the present time and place. I wouldn't even have noticed that she'd stood up if she hadn't been in my line of sight.

"We should really be going," She said as she gave Taylor a look that I couldn't understand.

"Yeah, she's right, we should be getting home." He said as he stood up. He towered over all of us; my head reached several inches below his chin.

I stumbled to my feet and started stacking up the dirty coffee cups as Gram got up to escort them to the front door.

"It was so great to meet you Leah!" said Christi as she pulled me into a hug. My reaction was a little late. I wrapped my arms awkwardly around her shoulders.

I managed to get out a pathetic, "Nice to meet you too."

Taylor paused at the doorway of the living room. "See you around Leah," he said in a rich, velvet voice.

A weak, nervous smile and a nod was all I could offer. The butterflies were going crazy again. I turned my attention back to the dishes, keeping one ear open to hear what was going on at the front door.

"Say hi to your Grandmother for me kids, tell her I'll stop by soon," Gram instructed.

"We will Mrs. Call," Christi's bubbly, harmonic voice floated into the room.

"And remind her that you're _all_ still invited to dinner tomorrow night, you know I'm –" Gram stopped suddenly, interrupted by the sound of smashing glass.

I had picked up a cup, right as Gram started talking, only to have it slip out of my hand at the thought of seeing him tomorrow. They all looked around the corner to see what had happened.

I knelt down, red-cheeked, to pick up the remains of the shattered glass. Instantly, another pair of big, dark hands were quickly helping to retrieving the shards.

I looked up, surprised, only to meet his gaze. I looked down quickly, not wanting to be completely dumb when he told me good-bye this time. Was it just me, or could I feel heat radiating off him?

"Thanks" I mumbled as we stood up. "Sorry about the mug Gram. I'll get another one next time I'm out." I offered.

"Oh, that's ok honey, don't worry about." She said as she walked back over to the door.

I offered a shy smile to Taylor before murmuring another pathetic "thanks".

He simply laughed as he walked out the door before calling back, "See you tomorrow Leah," followed by another round of laughter

I carefully carried the tray into the kitchen; Gram followed behind me. I tried to apologize again for the broken mug, but she told me not to worry about it. I decided I would try to find out more about Taylor and Christi.

"So, um, Gram?" I was surprised at how nervous I sounded.

"Hmmm?"

"I was wondering, are Christi and, err, Taylor twins?"

Gram chuckled. "No, Taylor's a year and a half older, Christi's only sixteen, but she does seem older doesn't she?"

I nodded my head, lost in thought.

"So Taylor will be in my class?" I asked, slowly, not wanting Gram to catch on to the excitement I tried to disguise.

"Yes, dear, I believe so," she seemed oblivious enough. Better not push my luck though. But before I could change the subject Gram sighed.

"Their story is a sad one." She said.

I looked at her, curious. "What do you mean?"

"Their father died a few years back. He was fishing and was attacked by a cougar. The kids and their mom now live with his parents, the poor things." She stopped and stared thoughtfully at the pile of cups.

"Do you want me to do the dishes?" I asked quietly, subtly changing the subject.

"No, I have them, why don't you go finish unpacking."

I made my way down the tiny hall to my even tinier room, lost in thought. _How terrible_ I thought.

I thought about the two who had just left. I liked Christi, and Gram was right, she did seem older than just sixteen. Her bubbly personality was a nice break from the dull quiet of the house. I would enjoy being around her.

I finished putting the pile of books into a neat stack on the floor by my bed. I made my way over to the small desk and switched on the bulky old laptop.

I turned my attention back to the small mound of clothes on my bed while I waiting for the ancient computer to turn on.

I heard the ding and sat down at the antique desk. I opened up my e-mail, one new message. I clicked on the flashing icon.

It was from my best friend back home, Cata. Her family was Mexican, if it hadn't been for her, I would've failed Spanish 2.

**Hola!!!**

**How are you amiga? How was your flight?**

**We all miss you so much! Just thought you might like a little surprise waiting for you when you got there.**

**You need to write me and tell me what it's like there? Is it raining? Ha ha! And most importantly… are there any cute guys?**

**I miss you amiga mia! Write me back pronto!!**

**I love you and I miss you!**

**Tu mejor amiga,**

**Cata**

Cata was insanely boy-crazy; she had tried to set me up with every guy she'd laid eyes on in the past 3 years.

I would reply later. I chuckled as I exited the webpage. I opened up my music file and turned on some mellow rock and roll. I turned down the volume so as not to disturb Gram.

I heard the back door open and the sound of Gramps' voice as he and Gram talked.

I went back to organizing my clothes, putting everything into the big pine dresser and piling my shoes at the foot of my bed, pausing only when Gram came in to tell me that dinner was ready.

I walked out into the warm dining room and slid into the cozy booth. Gram and Gramps sat in the chairs and closed their eyes; I did the same and Gramps prayed.

As we ate, Gram filled Gramps in on all the excitement of this afternoon. I was sure I turned an impressive shade of crimson when she mentioned the episode with the cup.

I finished eating and made my way over to the sink to wash my dishes. I drifted back to my room to clear off my bed. I turned the music back on and sat down to write Mom an e-mail, even though I knew she wouldn't see it for a couple days, at least.

Mom had a habit of forgetting to check her e-mail, and half the time she tried to check it, she usually would forget her password.

**Mom,**

**I'm here! So don't worry about me. I'll try and call you sometime tomorrow.**

**I've met some really nice people so far… and it's raining, as usual. I'm almost done packing, and I think Gram's gonna show me around tomorrow. So I'll see the school and everything.**

**Well, I should finish organizing and get to bed. I love you!! Talk to you soon!**

**-L**

I read through it one more time to make sure it was good and hit "send". I would have to make good on my promise tomorrow.

Suddenly, I smiled involuntarily. I wasn't even sure why I was smiling until I thought about it. Tomorrow was when Taylor and his family were coming over for dinner.

I smiled contentedly as I exited out of the webpage and shut off the computer. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand, nine-thirty. It was still early, but I really was tired. So I made grabbed my bag of toiletries and made my way to the bathroom.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth and trudged back to my room; flying always took it out of me. I threw my makeup bag on the floor and flung myself onto my bed.

Just before I drifted off to sleep two words popped into my mind. "_Taylor, tomorrow"_ were my last thoughts as I slipped into unconsciousness.


	3. Ch3: Tye On Neck

**3. Tye On Neck.**

I woke up the next morning, disoriented. I lay in bed for a second, trying to collect my thoughts. The walls were brown, not the bright yellow Mom and I had painted last spring, and I could feel the heaviness of a thick blanket and comforter on top of me, I usually slept with just the sheets.

Then I snapped back into reality. I was at Gram and Gramps, in Alaska; Mom was in Canada; I started school on Monday.

I looked at the clock. Eight o'clock. I sat up slowly and looked around my new, small room. I shrugged the blankets back and shivered. It was so cold! I hopped out of bed and grabbed the blanket off the top and wrapped it around me.

I reached over to the end of the bed and grabbed the fur lined moccasins Gram and Gramps had given me as a welcoming gift. They fit me perfectly. I opened my door, and the smell of bacon and toast hit me with full force. I padded into the warm kitchen.

Gram was dressed, standing at the stove, cooking breakfast. I shuffled over to the counter and leaned against it. She turned around and smiled.

"Well good morning."

"Hi," I croaked. My voice was thick with sleep.

"I hope you're hungry." She held up the pan of eggs.

"Starved."

"Good, now go sit down, and I'll bring it over in a minute."

I trudged over to the booth and plopped onto the seat. I was still so tired. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. Gram came over with the food and sat down. I grabbed a mug and poured myself some coffee.

There were eggs, toast, jelly, and juice. It was the best breakfast I'd ever had. Normally I just had cereal or a granola bar. This was above and beyond. I asked Gram what was on the schedule for the day.

"I was planning on showing you around if that's ok"

I nodded my approval and took another bite of egg.

After I had finished I thanked Gram generously and then gathered the dishes before she could protest.

When I had finished I made my way back to my room. I grabbed my favorite pair of worn jeans, wool socks, a fitted, straight necked, olive green sweater, and my makeup bag and drifted into the bathroom. I started the water and laid my clothes on the toilet.

The hot water was so nice. I dreaded going back out into the cold house. But I had too much to do today. I had to call Mom, and Gram had promised to show me around today. I was careful not to think about tonight. I didn't want to freak out and trip or break something.

I pulled on my clothes and brushed my teeth. I stepped back into my room and put the moccasins back on, it was too cold to wear anything else. My winter wardrobe was a little scanty; I would have to find a place with a mall soon.

I brushed out my hair and grabbed my scarf and looked around for my rain jacket, but couldn't find it. I'd had it on yesterday; when I left the airport… _what had I done with i__t?_ I opened up drawers and checked the hook on the back of my door.

I checked in the living room, the hooks in the entryway by the door, and the kitchen. It wasn't there. I ran back to my room and grabbed my brown bomber jacket instead, but I was still frustrated. It wasn't anywhere in the house. But I knew I'd had it on yesterday.

Then it hit me, I'd set it on the seat yesterday when I'd gotten into the truck. It was probably still sitting on the back seat. I would need to talk to Gramps and ask him when he would see Joe next.

I wandered into the living room, and called Gram's name. She poked her head out of her room and informed me that she would be ready in just a second.

I sat down on the couch to wait. I looked at the frames lined up on the mantel of the fireplace. It was crowded with my school pictures, Gram and Gramps' wedding picture, and my baby pictures.

Just then Gram came bustling into the room.

"Ok, are you ready sweetheart?"

I stood up, "Yup, let's go."

Gram stopped just outside of the door.

"Now dear, we only have one key, we keep it here under the mat, so if you need it, here it is." she explained as she pulled the gold key out from under the mat and locked the door.

I smiled to myself; I sure wasn't in California anymore.

I was surprised to see an old green truck parked in the driveway.

"Whose is that?" I questioned.

"Oh, that's Billy Eyak's. He dropped it off this morning in case it starts to rain." She explained.

I hopped in the passenger's side as she slid into the driver's seat. The keys were sitting on the dashboard. She grabbed them and slid them into the ignition. The truck roared to life and we started on our tour.

Gram backed out of the driveway and drove southeast, past the house. We drove past several weatherworn houses to our left, spaced graciously apart, with the beach to our right. It was quiet in the cozy truck, which is why I jumped when Gram suddenly spoke.

"That's Tebughna High School." She pointed to a wooden sign that read, _Tebughna Tribal High, Home of the Wolves_, _10-12._

The sign stood in front of a beautiful old, wooden building. It wasn't very big, but it would have to do.

"There are 93 students, from 10th to 12th grade." Gram explained. "That's where Christi and Taylor go too." She continued.

I nodded, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered at the mention of _his_ name.

We drove past the school, into town. We drove down Chatham Road, where Gram pointed out _Tebughna Sunset Café_, a little bookstore and a big, log building with the words _Tribal Council and Bingo Hall_ painted in big letters on a sign above the glass doors. I stifled a giggle. We then made our way down Raven Beaver Way where she motioned to a diner and a general store building that boasted food, apparel, lumber, and gasoline.

She parked the truck in the lot of the latter and turned to me.

"You don't mind if I get some groceries do you?"

"No, of course not." I replied. "I'll go with you." We both jumped out of the truck and slammed the doors shut. Gram walked into the old building and nodded to the lady standing at the only register.

"Hello Mary." She greeted the lady cheerfully. She grabbed a basket and made her way through the store. It didn't take long. We were back in the truck in fifteen minutes tops.

As soon as we were both strapped in my stomach growled.

"Why don't we go get lunch at the diner?" Gram offered. I agreed and we drove down the street to park in front of the little building.

The front was all glass windows with the words _Bear Paw Diner_ written in red letters across the window. I hopped out of the truck and my stomach rolled again.

I was surprised to find, when Gram introduced us, that the owner was Billy Eyak; the man who owned the truck. I smiled politely and then we sat down to eat.

We chatted while we ate. Gram wanted to know everything about my life back home, and how Mom was. She asked about my friends, and school, and if I did any sports. Slowly, the awkwardness melted away and it became very easy, and comfortable to talk to Gram.

I asked her more about the town and school. She mentioned again that the school only had 93 students, and I could feel my jaw drop as I listened this time. There had been 100 students in my sophomore class alone back in California.

After we had eaten lunch and apple pie for dessert, Gram drove me over to several beaches and the dock.

The area really was beautiful, that I couldn't deny, but I still missed the sun, and home.

When we were finally on our way home, I glanced at the clock. It was five-thirty.

"What time is Christi's family coming?" I asked, careful to use Christi's name instead of Taylor's.

"Around seven I think, I need to get home and start dinner."

I gulped; I only had an hour and a half before I saw him again. I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about it. I was excited, and yet nervous.

I seemed to get very clumsy when he was around. I rolled my tongue across my bottom teeth and tried not to think about the fact that in under two hours, I would be standing in the same room as the boy who, in a matter of seconds, could make me feel like I was walking on clouds.

I was trying so hard not to think that I hadn't noticed where we were till we pulled into the driveway. I hopped out of the truck and walked up to the door. I reached for the key, but was surprised to find that the door was already unlocked. Gramps must be home.

I opened the door and went through the kitchen and straight for my room. I could hear the sound of the TV coming from the living room. I shrugged out of my jacket and unwound my scarf. I placed them both on hook on the back of my door and then headed into the kitchen to help Gram.

When dinner was almost ready Gram informed me that my assistance was no longer needed and that I should probably call Mom. She passed me an out-of-date cell phone and a piece of paper with the number.

I went to my room and shut the door. I slipped out of my moccasins and sat cross-legged on the bed. I dialed the number and waited.

Mom's familiar voice answered on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Mom! It's me!"

"Leah!" she exclaimed. "How are you hun? I miss you!"

"I miss you too Mom, I'm good. How's the packing coming along?"

We continued to chat about our lives and what I'd done that day and how I liked my new home. Suddenly, a familiar ring startled me. I gulped.

"Um, Mom," I said, with a shaky voice, "I have to go, it's time for dinner."

"Ok, dear," Mom said suspiciously, "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I squeaked. "I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye."

"Love you too," her voice was still drenched with suspicion. "Bye."

I snapped the phone shut and took a deep breath.


	4. Ch4: It's Just Dinner, Hakuna Matata

**4. It's Just Dinner, Hakuna Matata.**

I set the phone down on the bed and poked my head out the door.

I could hear the sounds of old friends talking. I stepped back in the room and tried to control my breathing. This was ridiculous. I should not be hyperventilating over a guy I've known for all of two days.

Why did he have such an insane affect over me? I reached over for my makeup bag and pulled out my compact mirror. I checked my face and then sighed. This was not like me. I never cared about guys before. Why should I now?

I placed the mirror back in the bag and tossed it to the floor by my dresser. I stuffed my cold feet into my moccasins and stepped out into the short hallway. I walked into the living room at the same time as everyone else did.

I recognized Taylor instantly; he stood at least a good 5 inches above everyone else. There were two people who I vaguely remembered, an old woman and a younger woman, the latter only a few years older than Mom, and someone else who I recognized instantly.

Joe Earley. Gram came to stand beside me and officially introduce me to everyone.

"Beth, Emily, you both remember Leah," she said as she motioned first to Taylor's mother, and then his grandmother. "And Leah, this is Beth Earley, and Mrs. Emily Earley."

"My! You've grown my dear!" Mrs. Earley said with a smile. Her wavy black hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Her skin was dark and leathery.

"That's what they tell me," I said with a smile. I nodded politely to Joe.

I concentrated for a second. So Joe was Taylor's grandfather. And when Gramps said that Joe had grandkids about my age, he was talking about Taylor and Christi.

I almost laughed out loud.

Just then, a bright, bubbly Christi came bursting through the doors.

"Leah!" she exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again!"

I chuckled as I held out my arms for the incoming hug. She pranced gracefully over to me and wrapped her arms lightly around me. A smile spread across my face. I had forgotten how much I thoroughly liked being around Christi.

We all stood where we were, talking.

Christi and I chatted about where I could go to get clothes; my winter wardrobe was a little scanty.

"We can drive up to Ketchikan!" she offered animatedly. "A girls' day out!"

I agreed enthusiastically. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun.

We continued to plan for the next several minutes, until all the talk of clothes jogged my memory.

"Um, Joe, did you find a black rain jacket in the back of your truck?" I asked shyly, leaning around Christi to look at the rest of the group.

Taylor cleared his throat. He had been talking with Gramps and Joe and up until now I had been very careful not to look at him. I glanced up, and was immediately rendered dumb. I tried to regain my breath.

He smiled a gorgeous crooked smile and held out his hand. In it was a tight black bundle. I looked at him questioningly and he chuckled.

"Your jacket," he explained. "My grandpa found it in the backseat of the truck and figured it was yours."

"Oh, right, um, thanks."

"You're welcome." He laughed.

I took the jacket and excused myself. I hurried to my room and hung it on the hook on the back of my door. I stopped in the middle of my room and took several deep breaths before stepping back outside.

When I went back out they were all seated in the living room. Gramps had carried the two chairs from the dining room and set them by the couch. The only space left was in the armchair by the window.

I plopped myself down and tried to listen to the conversations. This proved to be a difficult task.

There were several conversations going on at once. Mrs. Early and Gram were talking about cooking while Beth, Gramps, and Christi talked about how the tackle shop was doing. I finally gave up after a few minutes and began to look around the room.

I dared a glance at Taylor. He was sitting in the other armchair across the room, staring at me with his piercing eyes. This time I was more easily able to control my breathing, although my stomach still flip-flopped.

He smiled and nodded his head to his right. Then he stood up and motioned for me to follow him. I was stunned. He walked behind the couch and stood, waiting for me to join him.

I stood up, my legs shaking, and caught myself when I almost tripped over my own feet. He laughed and it reached his eyes. I turned a marvelous shade of scarlet, and this made him laugh even more.

"How are ya Leah?" he asked, still laughing.

"Um, I'm fine." I was still a bit confused to as why he would want to talk to me.

"You liking it here?"

"It's nice. But I miss the sun."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess it's a little different from southern Cali."

"What?" I asked, my shyness replaced by curiosity. "How did you know I lived in southern California? I didn't say anything about it yesterday."

"No," he chortled, "You didn't. But your grandparents haven't stopped talking about you since the day they found out you were coming. I've heard about you every day for the past two months."

At this comment I turned crimson times twelve.

"Me?" I managed to squeak out. He just laughed and nodded his head. I rolled my tongue across my bottom teeth. I decided I would try to change the subject, "Aren't you cold?" I had noticed that he wasn't wearing a jacket. It was about thirty degrees outside, and yet all he wore was a simple navy zip-up.

A weird expression crossed his face and he answered a little too quickly. "Err, no, I'm fine."

Something in his expression wasn't right, but I dropped the subject, it wasn't really that important.

"So are you starting school on Monday?" He asked quickly.

"Yup, you?"

"Yeah." He was still obviously bothered by my question.

"So what are the classes like?" I asked, "Gram told me there are only ninety-three kids in the whole school? There were a hundred seniors alone in my school in California."

He chuckled, back to normal. "Last year there were thirty-one kids in my class. And they split us up in two groups."

I couldn't imagine having class with just fifteen people. This was going to take some serious getting used to.

"Wow, you only have fifteen people in each class?"

"Yeah, why?" He pulled out his heart-stopping smile. "How many people did you have in your class back home?"

"Um, sixty, I think, err maybe more, I um..." I couldn't think straight, not with him smiling at me with the face of an angel.

Just when I thought I was going to keel over and die of embarrassment Christi bounded up and announced that dinner was ready and that we should all make our way to the table.

I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around and started down the hall. I could hear him following behind me, but I tried to ignore him, and focus on breathing in and out.

When we got to end of the hall, everyone was seated at the table, and they had put three paper plates on the counter, with the barstools. I felt the color drain from my face, and I heard Taylor laugh under his breath as he took his seat and patted the one next to him.

I had been counting on sitting with everyone else, being able to join in on the other conversations.

Why was this happening to me? What had I done to deserve this? I sighed and plodded over to the counter. I took my seat without looking at his face. I could still hear him laughing quietly to himself.

Gramps stood up and prayed and then Gram brought the big pan of lasagna over to the table. Taylor, Christi, and I stood up to get our servings and then headed back to the counter.

I was careful to focus on my food and not him. I sat up very straight and ate in silence.

"Leah, why are you so tense?" His voice was so husky, warm, comforting…

I saw Christi raise her eyebrows as she took a bite.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

I glanced up at him, only to meet his piercing eyes. My arms and legs turned to jell-o. I melted.

"No I'm not." It sounded like a question.

I turned my attention back to my lasagna, and tried to recover use of my arms. I took a deep breath. It felt weird to just sit here and not talk. But what was I supposed to say? What are you supposed to talk about with the most beautiful person on the face of the earth?

"So, um, ninety-three students huh?" I almost smacked myself in the head. What was I thinking?

He laughed and ruffled my hair. His hands were unusually hot, I froze. This was the first time he had ever touched me, and it sent a shock through my body. I smiled and looked back down at my plate.

I heard Christi laugh. I looked up and met her eyes. She wagged her eyebrows and laughed another silvery laugh.

We didn't talk much. But I was shocked at how much Taylor ate. Luckily Gram had made two lasagnas; he ate almost a whole one by himself. Finally, it was time for them to go.

I was relieved and yet sad; utterly confused by my mix of feelings. I said goodbye to Beth and Mrs. Earley and then turned to the two radiant siblings standing side-by-side, playfully bothering each other.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." He said cheerfully, punching Christi playfully in the arm once more before turning to me.

"Tomorrow?" I sounded nervous.

"Yeah, Sunday, you _are_ going to church right?" piped up Christi in her beautiful soprano voice.

"Um, I uh, think so." Maybe I could get sick.

"Ok, good, see you then." Christi gave me a quick hug before dancing out the door.

Taylor took a step closer to me. He ruffled my hair and shot me his glittering smile before disappearing out the door, leaving me frozen in the living room.

I wandered back to the kitchen to help Gram clean up. She was already stuffing the plates in the trash. I washed the pan and cups and then helped wipe down the counters.

"Well, I certainly had a good time. How about you dear?"

"Mmm."

"You and Taylor seemed to be getting along." Was I just imagining the double meaning in her words?

"Mmm, is there anything else I can do?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"No dear, I think that's all, you're free to go."

I went back to my room and started my senior citizen of a laptop. I sat in the creaky wooden chair while I waited for the piece of junk to light up and connect. I thought about tonight and how stupid I had acted.

_I wasn't going to act like that again_ I promised myself. No matter what it took, I wasn't going to embarrass myself to that extent again.

The _ding_ of the computer ripped me away from my thoughts and I pulled up my e-mail. No new messages. _I should probably reply to the message Cata sent me, _I thought_._ So I opened a new message and typed out a quick message.

**Cata,**

**I'm good. The flight was fine, I slept the whole way.**

**I miss you too.**

**Yes, of course it's raining.**

I decided to completely ignore the boy comment and instead, typed out a quick closure.

**Well, I should go.**

**Love you too!**

**-L**

No need to admit to the fact that I've been here for two days and was already going gaga over a total stranger. I turned on Bob Marley – he always helped me to relax. I turned the music down to a good volume and stretched out on the bed.

I tried to think, but I quickly realized that it was a bad idea. So I rolled over and snatched my notebook off the ground. I flipped through it till I found a blank page and started randomly doodling.

After about twenty minutes I stopped, and realized that I had drawn a dark pair of piercing eyes, staring intensely at me from the paper, they reminded me of Taylors'. I scowled and threw the notebook on the floor.

I stood up and grabbed my makeup bag from off the floor by my dresser. I hurried to the bathroom. I brushed my hair and teeth, and washed my face, then shuffled back to my room.

I grabbed my sweats and thermal shirt out of the dresser and changed quickly before collapsing onto the bed. I was surprised at how beat I was. All I wanted to do was sleep, yet my mind was wide awake, thinking about tomorrow.

Slowly but surely I drifted off. A smile spread across my face as I fell asleep, listening to _Three Little Birds._


	5. Ch5: Better Never Than Late

**5. Better Never Than Late.**

A knock on my door woke me up. My eyes burst open.

"Leah, time to get up honey, we have to leave for church soon." Gram's muffled voiced called through the closed door.

"M'kay." I called groggily. I rolled over and nearly fell off the bed. I threw off the covers and sat up. This morning was even colder than yesterday, and past my curtains the sky still looked dark. I looked at the clock, the numbers glowed seven-thirty.

I stood up, grabbed my bag and trudged to the bathroom. I grabbed my towel off the hook and started the water. I brushed my teeth while I waited for it to get hot and then carefully climbed into the narrow shower.

I finished quickly and wrapped my towel tightly around me. I cringed against the cold air as I dashed across the hall. I put on a pair of tights under my jeans, it was so cold, and pulled on a wool sweater. I sat down on the bed to put my moccasins on—I was getting a lot of use out of them—and dug in the bottom drawer of my dresser for my mittens.

I grabbed my bomber jacket from behind the door and wrapped my scarf around my neck. I also grabbed my rain jacket, and hung it over my arm, just to be safe. I brushed through my wet hair one more time and then hurried into the kitchen.

An omelet sat steaming on the table, waiting for me. I scarfed it down and then washed my dishes. I went down the hall to Gram and Gramps' room and knocked on the door.

"Gram, Gramps?"

"We'll be ready soon dear, you're grandfather is going to shower real quickly, and then we'll go."

I hurried back down the hall and grabbed a book off the floor by my bed. _Sense and Sensibility_ had been my favorite since I was nine. I made my way back down the hall and plopped myself onto the short couch, stretching out so that my head rested on one of the arms and my legs hung over the other.

I was so engrossed in the story that I never heard the truck pull up outside or the front door open. Suddenly Taylor was standing by my feet with a comical expression on his face. He cleared his throat. I was so surprised that I rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor, kicking him in the stomach in the process.

I jumped up, red cheeked and apologizing, but Taylor just laughed.

"Well good morning to you too Leah."

"Sorry." I muttered again.

Just then Gram and Gramps walked out of the bedroom, ready to go.

"Oh Taylor, good, you all are here, I hope we haven't kept you waiting long."

"No Mrs. Earley we just got here, everyone else is waiting in the truck."

I turned to raise my eyebrows at Gram.

"What's going on?" I asked, "Why is he here?"

"They're giving us a ride to church, silly." And with that, she marched out the door to the truck with Gramps, Taylor, and me following behind. Since I was the last one out I reached down to grab the key and lock the door. I was careful to put the key safely back under the mat.

When I reached the truck I was informed that I would have to ride in the back with Taylor. Christi shot me a teasing smile from where she sat in the back seat between her mom and grandmother. I playfully stuck my tongue out at her before climbing clumsily into the truck bed.

I gawked as Taylor gracefully hopped in beside me. His height seemed to do nothing to hinder his grace.

He laughed a throaty laugh and ruffled my hair again. The shock rushed through me again, like it had last night, but at least this time I wasn't rendered frozen.

I positioned myself so that I was on the opposite side of the small truck bed as him. Luckily Mr. Earley had put the cover on the back, so we would stay dry. I looked at my hands as I played with my fingers, nervously.

Again, like last night, heat seemed to radiate off of him, the back of the truck was soon very warm.

"How's your hip?"

"Excuse me?" I snapped my head up.

A sly smirk was painted across his face.

"From your fall, it looked like it hurt."

I blushed, that seemed to be a habit of mine whenever I was around him, that, and stuttering.

"Oh, uh, it's um, fine, I guess."

He chuckled and then looked out the windows at the trees racing by. He was always so teasing and easygoing; casual. I liked that about him.

We rode the rest of the way in silence. When we stopped he hopped out, gracefully landing on the balls of his feet. He offered his hand, but I shook my head. I was going to make up for all my clumsiness, right here, right now.

I tried to jump out of the back, only to have my left foot catch the edge of the truck. I flew forward, face first. Taylor caught me right before my face would've smashed into the cold, wet ground. His muscular arms were hot, like he had a fever. Goosebumps spread across my arms.

He helped me up and then fell onto the ground, howling in laughter. I turned bright red and then shot him a dirty look before tripping over my own feet while walking over to join the others. This made him laugh even harder.

I couldn't believe I was acting like this. What had happened to my motor skills?

I quickly caught up with the others. Taylor had controlled his laughter enough to allow him to stand up, but I could still hear him chuckling behind me.

We walked into the small white church. It was traditional, with a steeple and everything. Quaint. We all sat down in the back, except for Christi, who confidently glided up to the front and took her place with two other people next to the pastor, a girl with long, silky black hair, and a boy with an old guitar.

I was surprised to find that I recognized the pastor. Billy Eyak, the man that owned the truck and the diner, was standing up in from of the small congregation, a welcoming smile on his face. He nodded at Gramps as we took our seats, and then turned to the small group of three to his left.

The lonely guitar started playing and the remaining two began to sing with pure, beautiful voices. The girl had a beautiful voice, but Christi's was beyond words. My jaw dropped open; I'd never heard anything so spectacular in my life. Gram leaned over to me half way through the song.

"Christi has a wonderful voice, doesn't she?"

I nodded and continued to listen to the unfamiliar, peaceful melody. Back in California our church had a drummer, bass, and electric guitar. I preferred the peacefulness of the acoustic.

My eyes began to wander around the calm little church. To the left was a beautiful old stain glass window of a cross, with a hole broken through the bottom. I looked around at the people in the pews. I recognized a few of them from yesterday while we were in town, but most of the faces were unfamiliar.

I looked down our pew and met Taylor's gaze. As soon as my eyes found his he started to laugh hysterically. A few people turned around and Beth dug her elbow into his ribs. He just laughed harder.

I scowled at him and then turned my head, childishly. I tried to focus on the songs, but every now and then a soft snicker would reach my ears.

When worship was over, Christi sauntered over to the end of our pew and we sat down. Mr. Eyak began to preach on Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. I listened intently, glancing sideways only a handful of times. However, every time I looked, a big, goofy grin was spread across _his_ face.

How could he still be laughing at me? I crossed my arms and glared at the front, pouting. I looked sideways, my eyes meeting his. He smothered a laugh at my annoyed expression.

I snapped my head back to the front, pulling my arms tighter across my chest and vowed that I wouldn't look at him the rest of the service.

By the end of the service my arms were sore. We sang one last song and then everyone stood up, greeting old friends. Mr. Eyak made his way over to us. He shook hands with Gram and Gramps and then nodded in my direction.

"Mr. Eyak, I really enjoyed the service." I offered.

"Please, call my Billy."

"Ok… Billy."

He gave us one more smile before turning to talk to two older ladies behind him.

"Well, should we get going?" suggested Gram.

We all filed out the door. I was stuck in the back again. This time Christi stuck her tongue out at _me_ as she hopped into the cab.

I was careful getting in, and positioned myself in the back corner. Every time he looked at me, it brought on a wave of laughter.

"Why?" I asked him desperately.

"I just can't get the image of you falling 'outta my head." he explained between chuckles.

I crossed my arms and gazed out the windows, trying to ignore him.

We got to the house quickly. I was careful getting out of the truck this time, stepping over the door one foot at a time. I thought I saw a smirk cross Taylor's face, but thought better to ignore it.

Gram invited everyone to stay for lunch, but they politely declined. My heart started beating again.

Gram and I waved to everyone and then walked inside. Gramps stayed by the driver's side window talking in a hushed, concerned voice with Joe.

I raised my eyebrows but said nothing. I helped Gram get lunch ready. After we had eaten I did the dishes and excused myself to my room. I shut the door and grabbed my old slouchy canvas backpack.

I wanted to make sure that I was all ready for school tomorrow.

I stuffed in my notebooks, pens, pencils, and _Sense and Sensibility_… in case no one decided to talk to me. I threw the bag by the door and then sat on my bed and tried to figure out what was going on with Taylor.

Why was I so head over heels for him, and why couldn't I walk in a simple straight line around him. It was uncanny. I wasn't used to being immobile around guys. Back in California I'd hung out with guys, and I was fine.

What was so different this time?

_Ugh! What's wrong with me?_ I rolled over onto my stomach and tried not to think about it. Instead I thought about school. _15 students!_ It was insanity.

I thought about school till it stressed me out, then I reached over the side of the bed for one of my books. I came up with my old copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_. I shrugged, it would do to take my mind off things, and started at chapter one.

I was on chapter 10 when Gram called me for dinner. I stumbled out of the world of Harper Lee and into the warm kitchen. I apologized for not having helped prepare and then sat down in my usual place in the booth.

Gramps walked in a few seconds later and smiled at me. It was still kind of awkward to talk with Gramps. Neither of us were big talkers, so that didn't help.

As we ate, we talked about what the next day would bring. Gram stood up and walked over to the counter and grabbed a small rectangular piece of paper. She handed it to me before sitting back down.

The words, _Tebughna Tribal High, Home of the Chiefs, 10-11, '09-'10 School Year_ were printed across the top_._ I opened up the flier. It had a small picture of the school. I looked through the pamphlet, it explained all about the school and what to expect.

"Sounds nice." I mused.

"School starts at seven-thirty, and I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid that you're going to have to walk to school. Your grandfather is going to get the car fixed as soon as he can, but until then, I'm afraid you'll have to walk. You remember the way right? It's not too far. I really am sorry."

"Gram, don't worry about it. I'll be fine. But do you have an umbrella I can take?"

She nodded her head. I knew she was embarrassed, she felt bad, I could tell by her face. I didn't want to walk, but more than that, I didn't want to make Gram feel bad.

"Please don't worry about me," I reassured her, "I'll be fine." I patted her hand before standing up to wash my dishes.

I walked back to my room to set my alarm. It was probably about a mile to school. I would give myself a half hour to walk it. So I would have to leave the house at seven sharp. I set my alarm for six thirty.

I flopped onto my bed and picked up my book where I had left off. At eleven-thirty I put the book down and got ready for bed. I grabbed my makeup bag and padded to the bathroom. I showered to calm my nerves—all this talk about school already had me stressed out—and then it was back to my room to put on my sweats.

I turned off the lights and snuggled under the warm covers. I drifted off to sleep around midnight, wondering what the next day would bring.

A sharp buzzing jolted me awake. I rolled sharply to the right, smacking my face against the wall. _Ouch! Crap!_ I opened my eyes and turned off my alarm. I stumbled out of bed, holding my throbbing nose, not wanting to be late on the first day of school.

I went straight to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. The house was silent; Gram and Gramps were still asleep.

I sneaked quietly back to my room and picked out my favorite pair of jeans and a long sleeve thermal. Over this I wore a flannel, red plaid button up shirt, rolled up to the elbows. I brushed out my long hair till it laid the way I wanted it to.

I pulled on my moccasins and bomber jacket and then grabbed my scarf and stuffed my rain jacket into my bag on my way to the kitchen. On the middle of the table laid a note from Gram.

**Leah,**

**I'm sorry I'm not awake. I made you scrambled eggs last**

**night. They're in the fridge. You can warm them up in the microwave.**

**There's an umbrella in the stand by the door. I love you, have**

**a good day at school!**

**Gram**

I placed the note back on the table and walked over to the fridge. Sure enough, a small plate of perfectly scrambled eggs sat on the middle shelf. My stomach growled impatiently. I placed the plate in the microwave and let it revolve till they looked ready.

I pulled out the steaming plate and set it on the table. I grabbed the notepad that Gram had used off the counter and scrawled a note to her as I ate.

Gram,

Please don't worry about me… I'll be fine. I swear.

Thanks for the eggs, they're really good. Have a good

day, love you.

-L

I scowled at my messy handwriting. I hated it.

I finished my eggs and then washed my plate. I ran back to the bathroom to brush my teeth and then wandered back into the kitchen, making sure everything was cleaned up.

I dried my plate and put it away. I grabbed my bag off the table and then walked over to entryway to grab a small black umbrella from the stand, just in case. It wasn't raining yet, but I didn't want to tempt fate. I took a deep breath and then walked out the front door.

It wasn't dark out, but it wasn't necessarily light yet either. It was cold though. I zipped up my jacket and tied my scarf tight around my neck and the bottom half of my face. I walked down the short, dirt driveway and took a left towards town.

It was a straight shot towards the school. I walked along, briskly for about a half hour before I reached my destination. I turned left into the wide dirt parking lot. I took a deep breath before I stepped into the warm building.

I walked into a small lobby area with old, patterned carpet. A kind looking elderly woman sat at the desk in front of me, she looked familiar, but I let the thought pass.

Between me and the desk was a small hallway. A few students wandered past me, but aside from that, the building was quiet, almost peaceful.

I dodged a short, dark haired boy on my way to the desk. The woman looked up to me and spoke before I could even open my mouth.

"Oh, you must be Leah Call. How are you dear?"

My mouth fell open on its own. Gram and Gramps must have talked about me a lot, and they probably didn't get many new students at this school either. I offered her a smile, too shy to respond.

She handed me a small stack of papers.

"Those are a list of materials you'll need, a map of the school, your schedule and a pamphlet for our afterschool Culture Class. You'll get extra credit for your history class, and learn more about us as a people." She explained.

_She must be in cahoots with Gram _I thought, but instead of voicing my opinion I simply nodded my head and then turned my attention to the small map of the even smaller school.

Each class was fifty minutes long, not too bad. School was from seven-thirty to two fifty-five. I would be home by three-thirty, I calculated. I followed the map to my tiny locker, number eighteen. I was surprised they even had lockers at all.

I stuffed my rain jacket into the small space and stuck my face into the map. My first class was English. I wandered back down the hall to the other side of the building.

All of the sudden a pathetic ring echoed through the hall. I looked up, surprised to see people. They were all hurrying to get to their classes.

I studied the map frantically, trying to figure out which classroom I was supposed to be in. Only _I_ could get lost in a school this small. By the time I'd found the right door the hall was empty except for two stragglers and myself.

I held my breath and opened the door. The teacher, a thin man with glasses stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked at me. I heard a familiar snicker and whipped my head to the left, only to find Taylor sitting in the back, struggling to control his laughter.

The teacher walked over to his desk and looked at a piece of paper.

"Aaah, Miss Call. Thank you for deciding to join my class. Better late than never I guess; however, let us not make a habit of it. Have a seat."

At this Taylor laughed even harder, his face turning red; although I'm sure it wasn't anything compared to mine. I nodded and turned towards the desks. There was only one empty seat, in the back row, next to Taylor.

My mouth dropped open as I made my way down one of the small aisles. I kept my head down as I sat, and nervously rolled my tongue across my teeth. I couldn't believe my luck.

Taylor's laughter had died down, and I tried to focus on the teacher, Mr. King. But I could feel the stares of several people bearing into my face. I looked up, only to find all the girls in the class staring at me intently.

I looked at Taylor next to me, hoping for an explanation, but all he offered was a breathtaking, yet teasing grin. Just then, it hit me. I was sitting next to the hottest guy in the school.

He was very intimidating, without trying to be. All the girls around me had probably been trying to work up the nerve to talk to him since fourth grade, and here was I, the new girl, making him laugh and gaining his undivided attention.

I turned red at this last thought. They were _jealous_ of_ me_? I quickly erased that thought from my mind. It was pure stupidity, girls were never jealous of me. They were probably just looking at me because I was new.

I spent the rest of the class staring at my desk.

As soon as the bell rang I jumped up, grabbed my bag, and headed for the door. I looked back and he was several people behind me, slowly making his way down the aisle. I walked out the door, breathing a sigh of relief, but he was suddenly right beside me.

"That was quite an entrance there Leah." He teased.

I could feel the stares of the people passing by. I gulped. "Thanks."

He laughed a beautiful melodic laugh.

"You should probably get to class before you're late… again." He teased before tousling my hair and gliding off to his locker. He was still laughing as he walked down the hall, leaving me frozen and a little annoyed.

Suddenly, a bubbly, unfamiliar female voice broke my concentration.

"Hey, Leah!"


	6. Ch6: Lunch Dates and Blondes, Great

**6. Lunch Dates and Blondes... Great.**

I turned hesitantly at the sound of my name.

I didn't recognize the bright, female voice. The only girl I knew was Christi, and her voice was much more stunning than this. This voice was too normal.

I completed my turn to meet a pretty blonde with blue eyes. She didn't fit in with her dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skinned surroundings. She had loose curls that waved pass her shoulders.

The shock of seeing her light hair and skin almost stunned me, almost. But I was still too star struck with Taylor to feel much else.

"Um, can I help you?" It sounded rude, but I really didn't care. I just wanted to get to class; avoid a repeat of the last hour.

"Hey! Just thought I would introduce myself. I'm Amy! It's so good to meet you!"

Her peppiness was almost annoying.

"I know what it's like being the new kid," she continued, "just thought I'd help you out a little. Hey, want a tour?"

"Um, Amy right?"

She nodded.

"Ok, well, I really need to get to class. I really don't want to be late again."

"Oh, well I can show you the way!" she offered enthusiastically.

"Really, I think I'm –"

The bell rang before I could finish telling her to butt out.

"Crap! Crap, crap, crap!" I struggled frantically with the pile of papers in my hand.

"Relax," comforted Amy, "that's just the warning bell, we still have a minute."

"A minute?" It was almost a shriek, "I don't have a clue _what_ my class is, or _where_ I'm supposed to go!"

"Don't worry, _relax_." She repeated, "I'll help you."

And before I could protest she snatched the pile of papers out of my arms and was flipping through them, looking for my schedule.

"Oh my gosh!" her voice was high and shrill; it hurt my ears. "Your next class is Physics with Mr. Angoon! Me too! I'll go with you!"

I sighed as she all but dragged me down the hall, talking the whole time. We got to the door just as the bell started to ring. She looked at me, a smug smile on her face and proudly announced, "I told you so", before opening the door and bounding happily into the classroom.

I wondered what she was doing here, on the rainy Alaska panhandle. She belonged in California, with her blonde hair and perfect features; although, they were nothing compared to Taylor and Christi.

I mentally kicked myself for thinking of him.

She sat down in a middle row, turning to a girl who I'd never seen before, talking animatedly. I smiled—it was probably actually more of a grimace—at Amy before moving silently to the back. There was no reason to draw more attention to myself by sitting where people could see.

I slouched down lower into my seat and tried to become invisible. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening were slim. Especially with Amy thinking that she had to introduce me to everyone in the school.

At that moment, Amy turned around in her seat, tossing her beautiful gold curls.

"This is Sam," she explained, motioning to the girl sitting next to her. "And that's Auden, and Toby." She pointed to a couple making their way through the door. She waved when they looked our way. I blushed and rolled my tongue across my teeth.

_So much for invisible_ I thought bitterly.

Just then, she turned to give her full attention to a guy with spiky black hair who had sat down in front of her. I sat back in my seat.

I doodled thoughtfully during class and then jumped up as soon as the bell rang. I wanted to get outside before Amy could catch up with me and talk my ear off some more. I hurried down the hall to stuff my newly acquired books in my locker.

I opened my door and a post-it-note written in messy scrawl was stuck to the door on the inside.

**Way to make an entrance. Bravo. Haha, welcome to**

**Tebughna High! See you at lunch!**

**Hahaha**

**Taylor**

I quickly stuffed the note into the bottom of my backpack before anyone could notice and slammed the locker door. I jumped when I saw Taylor's gorgeous face waiting on the other side of the door; I hadn't noticed him walk over.

He laughed his beautiful laugh and my cheeks burned. I rolled my tongue across my teeth and then bit it to keep myself from saying something stupid.

"How did ya like my note?" he teased.

I just looked at him. I apparently looked amusing because he laughed again.

"It was very annoying, kinda like _you_ sometimes." I tried to tease.

My failed attempt at a comeback only made him laugh harder.

Suddenly, I began to notice the people passing by. Like before, they were all staring at _us_. The bell rang and Taylor gave me a wink and ruffled my hair. I gave him another annoyed expression. He just laughed and ignored it.

I stuffed by nose back into the pathetic map and tried to ignore the questioning stares.

I stumbled to my class, not wanting to look up from the map and meet the astonished looks. I could only imagine what thoughts were racing through their heads.

_What was the new girl doing fraternizing with the hottest guy in school?_

I burst through the door of Occupational Ed. right as the final bell rang. I smiled, proud of myself, and shuffled to the back row.

I plopped down in the seat and scanned the faces of the students sitting in front of me, and those filing in. I recognized a few people from my previous classes, but no Amy. I sighed a sigh of relief and settled back into my chair.

It wasn't that I didn't like Amy, she was nice. But I was just not in the mood to talk. I tried to pay attention, but I kept thinking about lunch.

The class crept by much too slow. I jumped at the sound of the bell; I had been day dreaming. I tried to gather up my things as fast as I could, but I wasn't fast enough. I got caught in the back of the line.

I waited impatiently as someone at the front of the aisle dropped all the contents of his backpack onto the ground. He stopped to pick it all up and I heard several kids groan. I looked at the clock. I now had less than four minutes to get back to my locker and then find my next class.

As soon as the aisle was free I bolted through the door and down the hall. I yanked open my locker and shoved my stuff into it. I slammed it shut and took off down the wrong hall. A few moments later I realized my mistake, and turned around to run in the right direction.

I was late, again. I knew I would've gotten out of my last class earlier if I had just sat in the front, but I didn't want to feel the stares of the whole classroom boring into the back of my head for fifty minutes.

So I snuck into my history class, red cheeked and apologizing and slunk to the back. I felt several people turn around to look at me as I pretended to be looking for something in my bag.

The teacher cleared her throat and I snapped my head up, my long hair falling into my burning, blushing face.

"Ms. Call is it?" she asked in a superior voice. I did not like her.

I just nodded my head.

"Well, would you please introduce yourself to the class?"

"Leah," I mumbled, staring at the white board the whole time. I really didn't like her.

"Louder please, and stand up."

I really, really didn't like her.

I stood up slowly. I heard a couple snickers come from the right. "My name is Leah." I said clearly. The temptation to drench the statement in sarcasm was almost too much.

I sat back down quickly and then stared at the desk.

"Well, Leah," continued the teacher, "I am Mrs. Newtok, and I expect you to be on time tomorrow."

I blushed and nodded. She gave me one final reprimanding look before continuing her monologue about what we would be learning this year.

U.S. History. Again. It seemed like I had taken this class every year for the past five years. But this time, there was a disturbing twist. It would center around the Tebughna tribe and "our" story.

She encouraged us to participate in the after school culture study of the Tebughna tribe, bribing us with good grades and extra credit. They defiantly intended to shove their beliefs on us. The class would educate us in the legends and history of "us". I almost groaned out loud as she continued on and on about the "wonderful opportunity".

This class passed even more slowly than the last. At the end of the class Mrs. Newtok passed out our text books and reminding us to be on time tomorrow. I was sure she looked at me when she said that.

I looked at my feet and skulked out of the classroom. I was still looking down when I rammed into Taylor.

I looked up, apologizing, but snapped my mouth shut when I realized who it was.

"Oh it's you," I said breathlessly. I had meant to sound indifferent, or annoyed, but I'd forgotten how heart-stopping his beauty was.

"Hehe, yup, it's me!"

I rolled my eyes and tried to walk around him. He moved with me, blocking my way.

"Why do you always act like I annoy you?" His smile was teasing, but his eyes were serious.

I sighed, apparently I wasn't fooling anyone. "Because I don't know how to flirt, so I act like a ten year old" would have been the correct answer, but I could only imagine the consequences that would ensue that bright idea. So I settled on a saucy, lie. "Because you _do_ annoy me."

He turned on the full power of his eyes.

"Sometimes." I couldn't tell the guy that it was my sad attempt at flirting. How weird and creepy would that sound? I'd known the guy for less than a week for crying out loud.

He laughed and stepped aside. "I'll be saving you a seat at lunch." He informed me before strolling off to class, yet again, leaving me frozen with my mouth hanging open.

I collected my thoughts and continued to my locker, dropped off my enormous history book, and then made my way to P.E. in a daze.

I kept in pretty good shape. I used to go running everyday with Cata in California. But anything that required skill or hand-eye coordination was a problem. I had tried thousands of sports, tennis, soccer, volleyball, the list goes on. I had quite them all after only a few months, at the most.

I had been on my school's swim team for a little while, that was easy, but I assumed that swimming wasn't a very popular past time when it was only thirty degrees outside.

Today, Gym was just like all the other classes, talking about what we were going to do this year. We would start out with basketball, and then move on to soccer, then volleyball. I liked basketball, I wasn't good at it, but I liked it.

I spent the next fifty minutes imagining how easy it would be for Taylor to play basketball, he was so tall…

The bell rang and everyone was off to lunch. My stomach rolled. Lunch. Taylor. Me. Crap.

I took my time going to my locker and stuffing in the contents of my bag. I went to the bathroom, fumbled with my map, pretending to be lost; anything to postpone the next hour in which I was sure to embarrass myself beyond cure.

I was finally out of excuses so I trudged down the hallway to the two doors that opened up into the big cafeteria. Ninety-three students talked and laughed casually. The whole school was in this room right now.

I spied the lunch line and grabbed a tray. I waited patiently, looking around at the tables. Suddenly, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and Taylor was standing up by a small table waving, a smirk on his face.

I stuck out my tongue, _did I really just do that_ I thought to myself. He laughed.

I got my pizza, chips, and juice and walked over to the table. I could feel people staring again. I sat down without a word.

He broke the silence.

"So, how you liking Tebughna High?"

"It's um, fine."

"How was your history class?" He was wearing a smug smile.

"Horrible." I replied quickly.

"What? You don't like our lovely Mrs. Newtok?" He chuckled and then turned his attention to the five pieces of pizza on his tray.

I ate mine quietly, trying not to make too big a fool of myself.

I reached for a napkin the same time that he did, and our hands touched. His skin was scorching hot.

"Are you OK?" I asked, alarmed. "You're burning up! You should really go home, or at least go see the nurse."

"Uh, no, I'm fine, I'm just hot." He wore the same weird expression as he had Saturday night.

Something about his voice and expression was still odd. I couldn't figure it out. I shoved these thoughts to the back of my head, and instead tried to focus on functioning like a normal human being.

Just then Christi came bounding up. Her timing was unbelievable. She set her tray down and floated gently into her seat.

"Hey guys! Morning Leah!" she said turning to me. "So what are we talking about?"

I smiled at Taylor, nervously, and then turned my attention back to the greasy slice of pizza sitting in front of me.

To my surprise, he chuckled. I snapped my head up, surprised; his attitude had changed so quickly.

"What's so funny?"

"You smiled at me."

I gave him a harsh glare, which made him laugh harder.

I turned to Christi, "How about we sit somewhere else?" I suggested.

She giggled her wind-chime laugh and started to gather up her things.

Taylor laughed and apologized, promising he would obey. I set my backpack back down on the floor and finished off the rest of my pizza in a few bites.

Taylor had already eaten his five big slices, but I could tell he was still hungry. He was eyeing my bag of chips. I tossed them to him and then finished my juice.

"I owe you one." He promised me, "I thought I was gonna _die_ of hunger."

I raised my eyebrows. "You ate five _huge_ slices!" I couldn't even believe they'd given him that much.

Christi laughed again, "You should see our kitchen on Fridays, there's _nothing_ left in the pantry."

"Yeah, but look at me," he motioned to himself, "I'm like six foot five. And my stomach's like three times the size of your head." He said, pointing to Christi.

He laughed and then stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth.

I smiled and shook my head as I looked around the crowded room. I still couldn't believe how small the school was.

"So…" Taylor set his elbows on the table, leaning forward a bit as he talked. "See anything you like?"

I saw the familiar smirk that told me he was kidding. But I still felt uncomfortable, awkward. The truth was, yes, but how could I possibly tell him? I couldn't.

"Har, har."

"Really, I mean, I know there's not a lot to choose from, but if you step back and squint, some of these guys aren't that bad."

I laughed and lightly punched his shoulder at the same time that Christi flicked his ear.

"Of all the people I could've become friends with, it had to be you." I said smiling.

He laughed and punched me back.

It seemed that the more time I spent with him; the easier it was to not make a fool of myself. Of course the fact that Christi was sitting next to me also helped immensely.

The three of us spent a lot of time together over the next few weeks. We ate lunch together every day, and then went to the house after school to study and talk till dinner.

I learned my way around town and all of the cool hang out spots. We spent a lot of time at the beach in front of my house, I learned that it was called Grey Wolf Beach and it was the best place to "catch some amazing waves" as Taylor had put it.

He tried to teach me to surf once, but I had put one toe in the icy water, and then decided to stay on the beach with Christi.

We still hadn't been able to go on our shopping expedition yet, but we spent a lot of time planning it.

I also learned that there was another village on the southeastern side of the island. It was called Nanwalek. It belonged to another tribe that had settled on the island a few years after our tribe. Something had happened between the two tribes, he didn't explain what, and they were considered enemies. According to Taylor, the kids at the school were jerks. I thought his opinion was as little biased considering the fact that his grandpa was one of the tribal leaders, but I kept my opinion to myself.

The days passed routinely. Taylor and Christi lived in town, and so they drove the truck to school. Taylor had not been happy when he found out I walked to school.

"Why are you all wet?" He had asked on an especially rainy morning.

"Because it's raining." I had said, in a slightly mocking voice. What did he mean _why_?

"But why are you _wet_?"

"Because I _walked_," I had said, mimicking his tone.

From that day on, he and Christi picked me up every morning.


	7. Ch7: Didn't See That One Coming

**7. Didn't See That One Coming.**

It was a Sunday afternoon, five months after my fateful first day in Tyonek; Christi, Taylor, and I were sprawled out on the living room floor, finishing up our homework. It was just another part of our relaxing routine.

Taylor and Christi had become my best friends. I had talked to Amy a couple more times, she'd come up to me during my first week, asking all about Taylor. She, like everyone else, had been shocked at how close I had become to the gorgeous siblings in such a short amount of time.

I had slowly but surely begun to stop missing California as much, until I'd stopped missing it all together. I couldn't imagine _home_ without my two new friends.

Christi had without a doubt become the best friend I'd ever had. I told her anything and everything. And as time passed, it became easier and easier to talk to Taylor. My stomach still flip-flopped whenever he touched me, but I could now control my breathing and blush only a little pink instead of burning red.

Taylor seemed to have grown a little more since the first day I had met him, but it passed unnoticed. Christi; however, had shot up. Before, she had been about my size; she was now a good six feet, at least.

We lay on our stomachs, quizzing each other on Physics, Calculus, Algebra 2, Biology, English and so on. Gram came bustling into the living room, and stopped at the end of the hallway. We had pushed back the couch so as to stretch out more comfortably and we sat in a little triangle, with a pile of text books and notebooks in the middle.

Gram laughed quietly to herself as she stepped over and around us to get what she was looking for.

Finally, we finished, and then migrated to the kitchen to sit in the little booth and talk with Gram as she cooked. Taylor and Christi ate so much, it was a miracle they were so skinny.

"Augh, Taylor, can we go home? I don't feel very good," complained Christi suddenly.

I looked at her; she looked _weird_, not sick, but weird, and why the sudden ailment. Just a second ago she was fine.

"Umm, sure," replied Taylor, giving me a questioning look.

Christi never got sick. She kept in amazing shape—she had become my new running partner; although, recently it had become impossible to keep up with her—and she always ate healthy.

We went back to the living room and gathered up their things. Christi walked over to me and gave me a quick hug. Her skin was warm.

"You better get her home," I said to Taylor, as I turned to tell him goodbye.

"Yeah…" said Taylor, he seemed to be in another place, his expression was weird.

"I'll see ya," he said without looking at me as he turned to walk out the door.

I shut the door and lowered my eyebrows in concentration, trying to think of a logical explanation.

I pushed the furniture back in place—with Gram's help, I couldn't believe Taylor had done it on his own—and gathered up my books. I plopped everything onto my desk and picked up my latest book off the nightstand. I was reading _The Odyssey_ for the second time.

I read for a while, and then got ready for bed. I made sure everything was ready for school tomorrow and then set my alarm. Since Taylor picked me up in the mornings I no longer had to leave the house at seven. That meant I got to sleep an extra twenty-five minutes!

I set my alarm and nestled under my covers, pulling them up to my chin.

My alarm went off as usual and I rolled out of bed. I got dressed, ate breakfast, and brushed my teeth, then sat back to wait for my friends. I waited and waited, but they never came.

I rushed out the door at seven thirty. But as I ran to school I couldn't help but feel _worried_, not angry. Something must have happened. They would've called if they could've, and I couldn't help but think that it had to do with Christi and her sudden plague.

I burst into English fifteen minutes late. I moved quickly to the back, waiting for Taylor and his sunny personality to burst through the door any minute. But he never came. I waited patiently, half expecting him to come late and crack a joke before ruffling my hair and sitting down next to me.

I would act annoyed, but really be pleased, it was our little joke. I went through several scenarios similar to these in my mind as Mr. King droned on and on. Before I knew it, the bell was ringing and students were gathering their things together.

Taylor never came. Still, I half expected him to be waiting outside the classroom, but still, nothing. I held my breath as I opened my locker, but no post-it-note was stuck to my door.

I hoped the rest of the day, in vain, that he would be waiting for me outside my classes, or saving a seat for me in the cafeteria.

I ate lunch alone. I was annoyed that he didn't show, but also scared. Had something happened to Christi? I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. I was annoyed that they hadn't called, but more than that, I was worried.

Finally, the shrill bell rang, announcing the end of the school day. I hurried to grab the text books I would need for homework out of my locker and then shrugged into my rain jacket.

I poked my head out the double glass doors, it was drizzling. I sighed before stepping out into the cold rain. I hadn't walked in over a month. I wound my scarf tighter around my neck before pulling my hood up over my head.

I listened to the pitter patter of the rain against my hood as I trudged through the oppressive weather to the house. Taylor and Christi still plagued my thoughts and I shuddered involuntarily at the thought of something happening to them.

I crossed my arms tight across my chest, a sorry attempt to stay warm. I looked to my left at the beautiful ocean, stretching on forever. It made me miss the warm, sandy beaches of California, but even in the cold and the rain, I couldn't deny that the rocky, misty beach had become my home.

I finally got to the house and dashed up the muddy driveway. What had before been a mixture of rocks and dirt was now mud and pebbles. I wiped off my shoes on the mat as I reached for the key and unlocked the door.

I walked into the warm house, calling Gram's name. I slipped off my wet shoes and went straight for the fridge, I was starving.

Stuck to the door of the refrigerator was a note.

**Leah,**

**I'm sorry we're not there. Something came up and Beth**

**needed your Grandfather and me to watch the tackle shop.**

**There's some pasta in the refrigerator if you're hungry.**

**We'll be home around 8. Love you.**

**- Gram**

I found the pasta and stuck it in the microwave. I watched it revolve, not really seeing it turn, but instead thinking about what was going on with the Earley's. Why had Taylor ditched the rest of the day, and why had Beth asked Gram and Gramps to watch the shop?

There were no doubts left in my mind. Something was going on, and I was going to find out what it was. I picked up the phone and dial their number—I had it memorized. I waited, but there was no answer. I slammed it down and decided that I would have to talk to Taylor tomorrow. I didn't have a clue what I was going to say, but I knew that I had to say something.

The off feeling that something was wrong was killing me.

I jumped when the microwave beeped. I pulled out the steaming tupper-wear and grabbed a fork before plodding off to my room. I set my backpack down and dug around for my book. I pulled _The Odyssey _out from the bottom of my bag, and picked up from where I had left off yesterday, eating as I read.

I soon forgot my worries and was lost in the adventures of Odysseus, stopping only when I heard Gram and Gramps walk in the door. I looked at my clock, eight o'clock. Had I really read for four hours? I jumped off the bed to go greet my grandparents.

Gram was tiding up the kitchen when I walked in.

"Why hello there dear, I didn't even hear you."

"Sorry, I was reading." I explained. "How did it go at the store?"

"Oh, just fine dear."

I considered asking Gram if she knew why no one was home as the Earley's, but then I thought better of it. That was their business, not mine, and besides, I would find out from Taylor tomorrow.

After talking with Gram for a while I excused myself to go shower. I pulled on sweats and a sweatshirt and then joined Gram and Gramps for dinner.

I washed the dishes and then reached over to grab the phone. I dialed the Earley's number and waited. Joe picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?" he said quickly, he sounded distracted.

"Hey, Joe? It's Leah, how are you?"

"Fine," he said quickly. A little too quickly.

"Umm, is Leah there?" I was nervous now.

"No, she's um, sick."

"Um, Ok, can you tell her I called?"

"Yes. Bye."

"B—" he'd hung up before I could get the words out of my mouth.

What little worry I had felt before had now tripled, and it was now laced with slight suspicion. I shuffled back to my room and flung myself onto my bed. I tried to imagine what I was going to say to Taylor tomorrow. The conversation with Joe had done nothing but assured me that something was wrong.

I wracked my brain, trying to see if there was anything that had been amiss about the two beautiful siblings yesterday. Nothing but their jaw-dropping beauty and grace came to mind.

Could that be it? That simple? She was just sick, just running a fever? It couldn't be. Christi never got sick, and no one got that sick that fast. And if that were the case, why all the weirdness? She _had_ been warm yesterday, but still, I couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that there was something more going on.

Besides that, Taylor was always hot, like he had just been standing very close to a fire. But he seemed fine; he always came to school and church. I had just accepted it as a part of who he was—he had always gotten slightly defensive whenever I brought it up, so I soon stopped asking.

I groaned and got up to brush my teeth. I sat back down on my bed and read till I was tired. I then dropped my book onto the floor and crawled into the warm covers.

I tried not to think of my mission tomorrow. I would talk with Taylor and he would explain everything, but until then I couldn't let my imagination get away from me. Christi had looked odd, but it was nothing to freak out over.

So why was I?

Instead I tried to think of Taylor. That always working when I wanted a distraction. I soon realized that this too was a bad idea. I closed my eyes and Taylor's face danced around behind my eyelids. I was too hooked on this boy

I rolled over and pulled the covers up over my head, but this did nothing to help the beautiful images from filling my mind. But even with all his beauty and splendor flooding my brain, a small part of me hung on to the nagging suspicion that something was not right.

I slept restlessly. I had nightmares all night, but they didn't make sense. In them, Taylor, Christi and I were walking on the beach, then, suddenly; they turned into fiery, hairy monsters, chasing me.

I woke up, wide awake and shaking. _I suppose I deserved that, for all my suspicions_ I thought to myself. I turned to the glowing clock on my nightstand. It was five-thirty. I got up and went to the bathroom. I showered and got dressed and decided that I would walk to school today. I didn't want to risk being late again.

I walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find Gram fully dressed in front of the stove, singing to herself as she slid a pancake off the pan and onto a plate. I looked at the clock on the microwave. It was a quarter to six. She usually got up about the time that I left the house.

"Gram?" I asked, stifling a yawn, "What are you doing up so early?"

"I got up with your Grandfather; he's already at the store."

"The store?" I asked as I sat down in the booth.

"Beth asked him to watch it again today. I'm headed over there around eight. We might not be back when you're home from school. I'll leave some food for you in the fridge."

_Beth can't be at the store._ All my suspicions from the previous night flooded back into my mind. This time, I couldn't control my curiosity.

"Gram, why can't Beth watch the store? Is Christi OK?"

Gram froze, almost dropping the plate of pancakes she was bringing over to the table.

"Um, yes dear, everything's fine, don't worry about it." She looked nervous.

So she was in on it too. It seemed like everyone knew something I didn't. Why were they hiding this from me?

The strange reaction from Gram only made my worry burn hotter, but I decided to let the subject rest for now.

I poured syrup on my plate and wracked my brain for an explanation that would make sense. The facts were these: Christi was "sick" and I wasn't allowed to talk to her; everyone acted nervous and defensive when I asked about her; they didn't pick me up yesterday, with no warning; and Beth wasn't able to watch the shop because of some situation that no one wanted to share with me.

The secret couldn't be a good one. Crazy thoughts began racing through my mind, Christi really was sick, and was dying of some rare disease. The whole family was all dangerous criminals, and they were trying to avoid risk of being exposed. They were terrible monsters like the ones from my dream and were out to wreak havoc on the small village of Tyonek…

The stories got more and more outrageous the longer I thought about it.

Finally, I pushed all the ridiculous falsehoods from my mind. I was acting stupid. These were my best friends! There was something going on, that was obvious, but I was blowing it all way out of proportion. Today at school I would calmly ask Taylor to explain what was going on.

I finished up my pancakes and washed the dishes. Gram migrated to the living room to vacuum—she was always cleaning; the house was always spotless—and I to my room to gather up my things.

I kissed Gram goodbye and pulled up the hood of my rain jacket. It was drizzling and dark, but it was peaceful.

I walked into the warm lobby. I shrugged out of my raincoat and shook it out by the door. Little rain drops fell onto the mat. I hung the jacket over my arm and walked calmly to my locker, nodding at the kind receptionist on my way.

I stacked my books neatly and shoved my jacket in to the tiny space remaining.

I walked calmly to English, and then sat down in my usual place in the back row. I waited for Taylor to come and assume his usual place next to mine. He was fifteen minutes late, and I could tell immediately that something was wrong.

He sat down quietly next to me.

I didn't see him until lunch. I walked into the cafeteria and went to sit down at our usual table. I poked at my salad until he came and silently sat down across from me.

"So…" I began, "…Christi's still sick huh?"

He choked on his food and then coughed. He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, sick." He looked worried.

Something about his voice and expression still made me doubt. I couldn't figure it out. Why was I being so paranoid?

I gave him a nervous smile, that was meant to be reassuring, and then turned my attention back to the bowl of salad sitting in front of me.

Just then, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I wouldn't have noticed it, except for the fact that it was moving inhumanly fast. I jerked my head to the right, but whatever it was; it was gone before I could see it.

"What was that?" I looked back at Taylor. He was staring intently at something behind me; his brow was furrowed, like he was trying to understand a hard algebra problem.

I turned around in my seat. There was a tall, skinny, dark skinned boy in the lunch line looking at Taylor. It looked like he was mouthing something, but he stopped quickly when he noticed I was looking at him. He met my gaze and then dropped his eyes, staring at the dirty, white tile floors.

I turned back around to look at Taylor. He was fidgeting anxiously.

"Hey Leah, sorry, but I gotta go." He said quickly.

His face held a mix of worry, and the strange expression he had on Sunday afternoon.

I nodded but he was already standing up, taking his empty tray with him. He dumped the chip bag, napkin, and juice bottle in the trash can on his way out, and then broke into a run out the cafeteria doors, leaving me speechless and frozen.


	8. Ch8: Creepers and Mood Swings

**8. Creepers and Mood Swings.**

He wasn't at school the rest of the week.

We walked to church on Sunday. I waited anxiously during the service, twisting around to get a look at the door, waiting for his family to file in. But they never came.

Gram and Gramps spent most of their time at the store; Beth was never there. I had begun to accept the fact that they had moved to a foreign country, or fallen off the face of the earth.

Then the week just kept getting weirder and weirder.

It continued with a small group of boys. They sat at a table on the far right wall, several tables from where I usually ate alone. There were four all together. I recognized them as friends of Taylor's.

They all reminded me of Taylor, like they could be his brothers; although, I knew they weren't. They were all beautiful, they were all tall and muscular, they never wore jackets, and they were always together.

Last Wednesday they had all begun to look at me like they were waiting for something. I recognized one of them—the thinnest one; although, he too was muscular— as the boy who had been mouthing something to Taylor last Tuesday. He was a sophomore.

I had tried to ignore them the best I could, but their piercing eyes made it difficult to focus. There was always at least one of them in all my classes. I knew the name of the most muscled one was Ross, he was in my History class and Mrs. Newtok called on him a lot—He was the one who'd laughed when she made me stand up. But the rest of them were strangers. I had; however, singled out the leader. He, like the others, was beautiful and muscular, but he blended in. He was nothing special, as far as I could tell, and Ross was much larger than he was, yet the remaining three obeyed and followed him unconditionally.

I'd never talked to any of them, and yet they suddenly seemed very interested in me.

I got to school on Monday, hoping that Taylor would be there. If they were "sick" a week should've been long enough for both him and Christi to get better. But my hopes were shattered when I again ate lunch alone, plagued by the stares of the foursome.

Taylor and Christi had been my only friends at the tiny school, and I was lost without his odd sense of humor and her bubbly personality. I had been feeling especially alone since the guys had begun to watch me. And besides that, I still wanted to figure out what was going on.

I was beginning to think that they were gone for good, which was why I was surprised on Tuesday when I walked into English, only to find Taylor lounging in the back row. He was sitting in one seat with his long legs propped up on another beside him.

I moved confidently down the aisle, though I could feel a blush creeping up my neck and cheeks.

"Have a seat." He said as he swung his legs off the chair next to him. I slid into the desk and stared at my hands. I could imagine the smug smile that was probably stretched across his face.

We sat in silence until a flustered Mr. King rushed into the classroom; papers piled high in his arms. The bell rang and he dropped the pile onto his desk with a bang.

"Ok class," he announced, "We're going to start a unit on literature. Serena," he said, turning to a girl with curly black hair who was sitting in the front, "Will you please hand these out?" He handed her half of the stack he had thrown onto the desk.

"This," he explained, "Is your book list. I've sectioned it off…"

He droned on, but I was distracted by a movement on my desk. I looked down to find a folded piece of paper laying on the edge. I looked at Taylor and raised my eyebrows. He nodded to the paper and with a sigh, I opened up the note.

Ha ha, I must say, you are a lovely shade of red, haven't seen you that color in while. So what did I miss? Clue me in on all the hot gossip!

I rolled my eyes.

You sound like a bratty teenage girl!

I wrote, before tossing the note back to him. He chuckled before scrawling out something that I was sure would be stupid and probably insulting, and yet, I was still elated be the object of his attention. _Augh! I'm pathetic!_ I thought to myself as I held out my hand, waiting for the note.

He placed it in my hand and I opened it up.

So, you eating lunch with me today, or have you found a new posse to roll with?

My stomach did little flip-flops. He wanted to eat lunch with me!

Well… I _guess_ I could squeeze you into my busy schedule. And what about Christi?

I wrote out quickly.

I handed the note back to him and watched his beautiful features ease into a satisfied smile, and then tighten into a straight line. He then stuffed the note into his backpack.

I tried to focus on the rest of the class, something about comparing authors and writing essays, but I was too distracted about lunch.

Finally, the bell rang. He shot me a dazzling smile as I tried to gather up my things. I ended up dropping half the contents of my backpack in the floor. He chuckled, and then knelt down to help me puck up my things. We were so close, and like before, I could feel the heat rolling off him in waves. It reminded me of my mission.

Apparently, if I was away from him for too long, all his old powers of rendering me speechless and immobile returned with full force.

I decided I would talk to him at lunch about Christi, and why he had been gone. I was sure he wouldn't cooperate, but the least I could do was try.

I stuffed everything into my bag and started down the aisle. I could tell by the heat that hit my back that he was following close behind me. We walked out into the hallway and he ruffled me hair as he passed.

"See ya at lunch." He said solemnly.

His mood swings had me so confused.

I stumbled to my locker. I stuffed in my books and hurried off to Physics.

I worried all through class. Taylor seemed annoyed when I asked about Christi and it had me worried.

Mr. Angoon took advantage of the fact that I was in my own little world and decided to call on me. I heard several people to my left giggle when I guessed at the answer, but I didn't really care; I was too worried.

The rest of my classes passed much too slowly. He passed me a couple times in the hallway, but his expression stayed serious.

The lunch bell finally sounded and I hurried to drop off my stuff and get to the cafeteria. I slung my now almost empty backpack over my right shoulder and concentrated on walking at a calm pace.

I walked down the vacant hallway and took a deep breath before I pushed open one of the heavy double doors and walked into the crowded cafeteria.


	9. Ch9: You Gotta Be Kidding Me

**9. You Gotta Be Kidding Me.**

I moved swiftly over to the lunch line and scanned the packed room. My eyes automatically jumped to the table where the foursome traditionally sat. I did a double take. Instead of four there were five dark figures sitting around the small table.

I was floored. No one ever sat with the small group of boys. I had considered it an unwritten rule. The fifth person was sitting with his back to me, slumped low in his chair so only his long black hair showed. I strained my neck for a view of his face. The person behind me in line poked my back, and informed me I was next.

I tore my gaze away from the table, only to whip around and continue to stare as soon as I had my lunch in my hands.

I saw something out of focus move a few tables behind them. I looked back and watched Taylor calmly walk over to the laughing group of boys, a serious expression on his face. He leaned his head down and rested his hands on the table, talking to them.

They were all instantly quiet, and just as serious as Taylor was. The new one, the one with his back to me turned around. I almost dropped the tray in my hand.

_It was Christi._ What was Christi doing with _them_? She turned back around and grabbed her empty tray. She glided over to the trash can to dump her trash and place the tray neatly on top.

Something about her was different. She was a hundred times more graceful than before, despite her massive size. She must have grown about six inches in the week that she was gone. She looked strange, she was still gorgeous, but different. Her beautiful features were set into a hard mask. They were smug and alien; I did not know this girl.

Something else caught my eye. It had to be about forty degrees outside, at the most, and she wore a simple grey tank-top with long jeans that hung low on her perfect hips, revealing a bit of her russet midsection. _How could she not be cold?_ I thought to myself. It was insanity, all of it.

I realized that I was still frozen by the lunch line, but I couldn't move. My feet were planted to the ground and the roots had grown too deep to be extracted. Besides, even if I could move, what was I going to do?

I had noticed throughout the week that the other kids stayed clear of the towering, sturdy gang. I wasn't about to walk over to them by myself, and I was too in shock to be able to approach my own best friend.

My eyes followed the "new" Christi as she floated back over to the table and settled back into her chair, her long legs stretched out casually in front of her. My eyes moved around the table.

All four of the husky boys, Taylor included, were staring at me. My eyes met Taylor's and worry flashed across his face. But just as soon as it had appeared, it vanished.

He waved for me to join him and then turned and walked back to a smaller table behind the group. I composed myself, and took two unsteady steps forward. I would have to pass by their table, and I could still feel their stares boring into my face.

I took a deep breath and stared at the floor as I passed. I walked swiftly to the small table and sat across from Taylor, letting out an audible sigh as I did so.

We sat in awkward silence for a while. Finally, I couldn't hold it in.

"What. The heck. Is going. On?" I asked slowly, looking at the table.

I heard him sigh and snapped my head up.

"Leah, it's really complicated and you really shouldn't worry about it. Christi was sick, and now she's better. I had to help take care of her and that's why I was gone." The way he said it, it sounded like he reading it from a script. "Can you please relax? Take a deep breath. I really don't get why you're so worked up about all this."

I took a breath and then turned to look at Christi. She looked like she had aged, like she could be twenty-one instead of sixteen. The mask was still stretched across her face. She was still beautiful, but now she was more mature looking. She resembled the group of guys, like she could be their sister, and not my friend. It had me worried.

"Bu—"

"No." he said harshly, cutting me off, "No 'but's'. That's what happened. Am I _that_ hard to trust? I thought we were friends." He turned on the full power of his eyes, but for once, it didn't faze me.

I dropped my stare and focused on my lunch. What could I say? I felt like there was more to it, but he obviously wasn't ready to hand out information.

We sat in awkward silence until finally, I snapped. I whipped my head up and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Christi's back and now she's hanging out with _those_ guys. Was she really even sick? And where were _you_ all of last week? You know, I've been dealing with those four freaks for the past week and I'm done."

He stiffened at the word 'freaks'.

"All I ask is an explanation. We both know something's going on here, I'm not stupid, and if you don't tell me, I swear I'll find out some other way."

I was surprised by my boldness, but I couldn't hold it in any longer.

He dropped his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly as he stood up at the same time as bell rang. His face was pain stricken I sat frozen. I turned around in my seat to watch Christi stand up with the group of guys. They moved together like one, like they were connected somehow. It sent chills down my spine.

They were all looking at me as Taylor joined them. They all started walking out of the cafeteria. Just before they walked through the double doors, I saw Christi look back over her shoulder, her hard mask replaced with her old self.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed.

Then they disappeared through the glass doors.

The final bell rang and I burst out of Spanish. I hurried to my locker, grabbed my books, and slammed the door shut. The sound echoed down the hall and several people turned to stare. I ignored them as I hurried down the hallway.

Suddenly, a familiar voice caught my attention. In front of me, against the wall, stood Taylor with one of the boys, he actually looked more like a man, from lunch. They had serious looks on their faces, and were talking in frantic, yet hushed tones. I heard my name and stopped.

I turned to face them.

"What about me?" I asked. I really needed to figure out where I was getting all this confidence was coming from.

The boy held the serious look on his face. He looked at Taylor who looked at me.

"Leah," he sighed.

"I need an explanation Taylor," I pleaded. "Please." I begged helplessly.

The boy ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Leah, you don't understand. I _can't_ tell you. I _can't_." the look in his eyes was sad, but I couldn't help but fire back, I was too upset to feel sympathy.

"You're right," I snapped, "I don't understand, cause you won't tell me."

He sighed and looked at me pleadingly, his hands held out helplessly in front of him. He looked so vulnerable.

"I can't." he breathed, his boyishness seeping through the mature exterior.

My heart broke as I looked him in the eyes, and marched out the doors.

I fought tears the whole way home. It wasn't fair. Something was happening to my friends, and I deserved to know what it was. I decided that I would call Christi, she would tell me right? I knew she would.

I shoved my hands into the pocket of my jacket and put my head down to block the oncoming rain. Why was this happening to me? Right when I was happy, when life was good?

I stomped up the driveway and up to the door. I turned the handle and shoved, but nothing happened. I sighed as I reached down and pulled out the gold key. Gram and Gramps weren't home, they were at the store helping Beth, all because of a stupid secret that no one wanted to tell me. This thought brought on a new wave of tears.

I marched into the kitchen and straight for the phone. I dialed the number and drummed my fingers on the counter impatiently while I waited. Finally, Joe answered. Crap.

"Um, Joe?" I asked hesitantly. I hadn't forgotten the other night, and I was sure he hadn't either.

"Eh?" he grunted

"It's Leah, is um, Christi home from school yet?" I sounded frightened.

"No."

"Well, could you have her call me please?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Ok, thanks, B—" He'd cut me off again. That was getting really old.

With a groan, I slammed the phone down and stomped off to my room. I flung myself onto my bed and grabbed a pillow. I stuffed it against my face and screamed as loud as I could.

After I had screamed myself hoarse, I laid breathless on my bed. I thought till my head hurt and then I stumbled to the kitchen. I grabbed the pot and made a big cup of steaming coffee. I took it back to my room and stared at the laundry basket at the foot of my bed.

I figured it would help take my mind off of things, so I dumped out all the clothes and separated the colors. When I had finished that, I took the three piles, one by one, across the hall to the washer, reading in between loads.

My exercise worked; before too long I had begun relax. Although, try as I might, the tears still fell down my face, and Taylor and Christi still plagued the back of my mind.

A while later I heard the front door open, and voices.

"Leah!" called Gram.

I eased to my feet and walked into the kitchen to greet my grandparents. My eyes were red from crying, and my throat raspy.

"Hey" I croaked. _Great,_ I thought, _they probably think I've been smoking._

"Honey, are you ok?" asked Gram, coming to feel my forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired."

I looked at the clock on the microwave. It was eight-thirty, shouldn't Christi have called by now? I walked over to the phone and dialed their number. I wait patiently.

A familiar voice picked up.

"Hello?" It was Taylor's warm, husky voice.

"Hey," I said meekly, "it's me."

"Oh, hi." He sounded sad. I was sure I had hurt him this afternoon.

There was a long silence before I cleared my throat. "Is Christi there?"

"Augh, Leah." He said helplessly. "Please, just let it go." He begged.

"Taylor! I just want to talk to her about our shopping trip." I lied quickly.

He cursed under his breath before calling Christi in a smooth voice. I heard muffled sounds as he told her something before handing her the phone.

"Hello?" she asked. Her voice was different too, still stunning, yet more mature.

"Hey Christi! How are you?"

"Oh, hey Leah, I'm… fine." She sounded nervous.

"Ok, well I just wanted to say hi, and that I miss you. We need to go on our shopping trip soon."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, we'll… have to try." She sounded doubtful. "Well, sorry Leah, but I should go."

"Ok," I said slowly, "Bye, Christi."

The line went dead.


	10. C10: Dogs Biting and Bees Stinging

**10. Dogs Biting and Bees Stinging, These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things.**

I stood stunned, the phone still held to my ear. I couldn't even move to put it down. What had just happened?

"Leah?" I head Gram say, "are you OK?" She didn't sound surprised that I was in shock. Had she been expecting this? Of course she had, she was in on it all.

She took the phone out of my hand and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry dear." She said as she hugged me. I pulled away and smiled at her, blinking back tears as I did so.

"S 'okay" I said as I turned and shuffled back to my room. I threw myself onto my bed. I knew, at that moment, that I was losing my best friends. They were slipping away, and there was nothing I could do about it. I stared at the ceiling and wondered what I was going to do. Taylor and Christi had been my sun; my life had revolved around them. Without them I had no one.

I mentally slapped myself across my face. What was I saying? I hadn't lost them yet. Things could still work out. Soon this would all blow over and things would be like they were before. I calmed myself down and thought about what the next day would bring.

I had over reacted, I decided. And if they weren't going to give in and tell me what was going on, I would just have to play dumb. Despite was I knew what true; I would go along with their little lie. It wouldn't really matter a couple months from now.

I sprinted through the double doors of the school. It was pouring rain and by the time I had gotten to school, my shoes were soaked. I sloshed to class, water pouring out of my shoes with every step I took. I hurried to the back and sat down, shivering.

I was cold, wet, and tired; I hadn't slept much the night before. Taylor came in and sat down in his usual seat, but he seemed distant. He didn't look at me, or talk to me. He just stared ahead. I looked at him for a second, and then stared at my desk.

"I went to pick you up this morning," he said in monotone, "but Gram said you'd already left."

"Um, yeah, sorry, I wasn't sure if you were gonna come or not, after…"

I didn't need to finish. We both knew what I meant. After yesterday.

We sat in silence all throughout class. I was scared to even look at him, knowing I would see only the serious mask he held. I had never seen him so unhappy, and if frightened me. The realness of the situation came flooding back, and I was overwhelmed with the feeling that my comforting pep-talk last night was nothing but fluff.

I folded my arms across my chest and clenched my fists. The bell rang and I began to breathe again. I relaxed my hands and began to fold and unfold them. They were red and sore from being held so tight, and there were marks from where my nails had dug into my skin.

I hurried out the door and to my locker, not wanting to see the stern look that was sure to be in his eyes. I hurried through the day, trying to keep busy so as not to think about the looming situation. But the boys in my classes were a distraction.

There was always at least one in every class, and like before, they were watching me. At the moment they were an unwelcome reminder of the dark secret everyone was hiding from me. I had begun to pay more attention to them, and had noticed that I had a class with all of them, except for the youngest, a sophomore, and the leader.

I had discovered he was a senior and was graduating next year. I had heard people talking about him, and learned that his name was Liam. He was the tallest of the group and, despite the fact that Ross was much more muscular, they all moved with him like gravity.

It was amazing to watch how graceful they all were, Taylor and Christi included. They were all almost seven feet tall, and yet they moved so silently and with such grace and confidence. It was amazing.

I passed from class to class, trying hard to focus on the lessons, taking careful notes, and filling my head with information on sonnets, equations, laws, wars, and the rules of volleyball until the lunch bell rang.

I changed out of my gym clothes and took my time on my way to the cafeteria. I was in no rush now. I realized that there was no hope of extracting information from Taylor, and I was giving up, waving the white flag.

I walked hesitantly through the heavy doors, and took my time going through the lunch line, allowing several people to cut in front of me. Finally, I was the last person in line and I made my way slowly up to the counter to receive my food.

I took my tray with trembling hands and then slowly turned to face the crowded lunch room. I looked at Christi sitting with the group of boys. She seemed even taller than yesterday. I saw Taylor sitting alone at the table behind them, the same place we'd sat yesterday.

I took a deep breath and took careful, slow steps towards him. The laughing five fell silent and serious as I passed. I gave Christi a comforting smile, and for a split second, the mask was gone. She smiled at me and she was my best friend again. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the smile was gone, and the solemn mask was once again positioned across her face.

I dropped my gaze and continued to the table. I sat down without making eye contact with Taylor. I poked at my pizza and tried to ignore the stress that hung thick in the air. I glanced up once, and found Taylor mouthing something to someone behind my head. I turned around without thinking, and saw Liam staring at Taylor. Liam looked at me, and I saw pity in his eyes.

I looked back at Taylor, but he was staring down at his plate. He seemed distracted and worried, but I felt like I was in no position to ask him what was wrong. We said nothing in the hour allotted to us for lunch; just ate and watched each other carefully when we thought the other wasn't looking.

This was not how things were supposed to be, Taylor was one of my best friends. I thought back to the day at the house. Everything had been so normal, so wonderful, and now, just two and half weeks later, my life was falling apart. I was losing the two most important people in my life.

I blinked back tears as this thought flashed through my mind. Finally, the bell rang, and Taylor stood up quickly. I sat in my seat, numb. He looked down at me, and grief flooded his eyes, pain filling his face. He opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it quickly.

He looked up at the group of boys, back at me, and then walked solemnly over to them. They all walked harmoniously out of the cafeteria.

Déjà-vu.

I passed the rest of the day shrouded in self-pity. This wasn't fair; this wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. Taylor was going to be my boyfriend and Christi was going to eventually be my sister-in-law. We would move somewhere exotic and have a perfect life together. It was a perfect plan, childish sure, but that didn't matter now because I had fallen apart in the blink of an eye.

Taylor was distant the rest of the week. We sat in miserable silence all through lunch and English, repeating the same pattern day after day. I had stopped riding in the car with them; it was too depressing of a reminder of the good old days. And yet, Taylor continued to eat lunch with me. I began to think that he felt obligated to it. He didn't want to just leave me hanging like Christi had.

He continued to seem distracted. We spoke very little to each other the rest of the week, and it was probably for the better. Every time I would open my mouth to say something to him, tears would flood my eyes to the point that, I knew if I said anything, they would brim over.

He'd noticed my misery, I was sure of it. Every now and then his eyes would fill with pity and he would look at me with a pain that I had never seen before as if he hated the situation as much as I did, but could do nothing to change it.

One Saturday night, I'd asked Gram if I could walk to church. She looked at me; sympathy and understanding clear on her face. She nodded two slow nods. The following morning we _all_ walked to church and sat in a separate row from Taylor and his family.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

I walked soberly to school on Monday. As I sat down next to him in English, I noticed that Taylor looked more worried and distraught than usual. I refrained from asking, and instead clenched my jaw so tight that my teeth were sore the rest of the day.

As usual, I took my time getting to lunch. I had noticed the rest of the guys had the same distressed looks written across their faces. It confused and worried me. They were usually relaxed and chill, except when I was around, but even then their expressions weren't so intense.

I had a feeling that something was going to happen, something bad, but I couldn't figure out what.

I took extra long walking to lunch and over to the table. Taylor sat fidgeting in the seat, looking very much like a boy who'd gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

I sat down and looked at him, a long sigh escaping my lips. He looked at me with a look of agony. He glanced past me at the cluster of five behind me. Then he took a deep breath and looked down at the table. I kept my gaze steady.

"Leah," he began, "we can't do this anymore." I had begun to notice that when he talked, he used the term "we". We both knew what he meant. Him and his gang. "It's too much for us."

"_WE_?" I asked, disgust drenching my tone. "_They_ can't do this anymore? What about _me_? I'm the one putting up with _them_. _They've_ stolen everything from me and _they_ can't _handle_ it?" I spat the words out, motioning back to the group behind me, trying to forget the fact that my best friend sat with that very group.

Taylor's hands began to tremble and he clenched them into fists. He took several deep breaths before looking me in the eye.

"_I_ can't do this anymore Leah." He said slowly. "I'm sorry, we can't be friends." He looked down, shame and agony marring his perfect features.

The breath flew out of me and I grabbed the table for support.

"What?" I asked breathlessly, the tears spilling over helplessly.

"I'm sorry." He said as he stood up and burst out of the lunch room.


	11. C11: Just What I Need, Another Curveball

**11. Just What I Need, Another Curveball.**

I sat shell-shocked in my chair, unable to even breathe. My worst nightmare had finally materialized. I had officially lost my best friends. They were gone to me forever. They were merely good memories; a thing of the past.

I wasn't aware of the fact that I had moved until I was sitting in my Calculus class. I looked over, out of habit, to my left, where one of the guys usually sat. He was tall and muscular, like the others, and yet, a little more normal, a, a little more quiet, a little less gorgeous. His seat was empty. I snapped my head to front of the class room and blinked back tears.

They were no longer my problem. Right now I had to focus on getting over the love of my life and my ex best friend. My eyes pricked at the thought. I didn't want to get over them.

I passed through the next two classes in a trance. How was I supposed to make it through the rest of my time here? I had talked to Mom yesterday, and she said that I would be here for "a few months longer than originally planned". I had tried to convince her that I could live on my own, or join her in Canada, but she had made up her mind.

She hadn't gotten the job she wanted, so she was trying one even farther up north. She thought it better if I just finished school here in Tyonek. She said she would try and visit when she could. So I was here for a while, a year and a half longer while.

My stomach churned at the thought. Another year and a half of looking the two beautiful siblings in the eyes and knowing that I wasn't wanted. Anywhere. Slowly but surely Cata had ceased to write to me.

My best friend back in California was easily distracted. She had probably gotten a new boyfriend, or joined a new club and forgotten to write me. I knew it wasn't on purpose, but considering everything that was going on, it hurt, all I wanted was a friend.

I spent the next few weeks waiting to wake up from this nightmare that had become my life. When that didn't happen, I waited for Christi or Taylor to walk up to me at school and explain, or tell me that I'd misunderstood. I rarely left the house, in case they called; I ate little and slept even less.

As the weeks passed, I began to realize that this was my new life. My friends were gone. Gram and Gramps still helped out at the store quite a bit, and that left me with a lot of time to myself. I kept myself busy constantly, not giving myself time to think. I did my homework twice, going over it over and over to make sure that it was perfect. I did laundry as often as I could and cleaned the house obsessively.

My grades had been good before, but they were impeccable now. I spent all my time reading, studying, cleaning and cooking.

My grades only got better, and my social life went down the drain. I hadn't made friends before; I'd always had Taylor and Christi. And now, with my gloomy expression, no one wanted to talk to me.

I ate lunch alone and tried my best to ignore the six pairs of watchful eyes I could feel coming from my right. Whenever I looked; however, the only eyes I would meet belonged to Liam, the rest of them, Taylor and Christi included, would look down as quickly as possible.

I walked to school and church. Gram and Gramps still spent time with Beth, they helped her out with the shop, Gramps was on the tribal council with Joe, and they still went fishing together, and sometimes I could hear Gram talking with Mrs. Earley on the phone in hushed tones.

I now thought no more of the secrets I knew were being whispered all around me. They had already ruined my life beyond compare; I didn't want to think about what else they could do to me.

I fell into a monotonous pattern of walking to school, eating alone, walking home alone, homework, beach, cleaning and then sleeping. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep much anymore. Every time I closed my eyes, the faces of the gorgeous siblings danced behind my lids and this only brought on a new wave of depression. And my nights were constantly plagued by nightmares, mostly about Christi and Taylor. They were similar to the original ones I'd had when they were gone. They were hairy monsters, like wolves or bears, but this time, they were not alone. Their gang was always with them.

I always woke up shaking and panting.

I made an effort to not think about the depressing turn my life had taken. I succeeded in my decision, except during my daily walks on Grey Wolf Beach.

It was on these walks that I let my mind go crazy and think about all that I had lost. I thought till I cried, and yet, it felt good to face what had happened. Like a quote I'd once heard, "Forbidden to remember, terrified to forget."

It was on one of the walks that my life would drastically change, again.

I was sitting on an old, weatherworn log on the far north side of the beach, about a half mile from the house. It was a grey and windy day, and I sat watching the choppy, misty waves. The cliffs to my right were barely visible through the fog, and I could only see a few meters to my left.

I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands. I tried to cry, but my eyes were dry. I had cried every night for the past month. I was completely tearless.

"Hello?" said a deep, beautiful voice. I was so startled that I jumped, and fell sideways off the log.

It wasn't Taylor's voice, but it was similar, smooth and comforting. I stumbled to my feet and looked at the person standing before me. It was a dark-skinned boy, actually—like those in Taylor's "gang"—he looked more like a man than a boy, but something about him was childish.

He had lighter skin than me; although it was still dark, and his hair was a stunning shade of black with dark brown highlights. His eyes were a fabulous shade of green and his sly smile showed a beautiful row of white teeth. His stance was graceful and sly, almost feline.

He laughed, "Sorry," he said, struggling to control his laughter, "I'm Tony." He reached out his hand to help me up. I ignored it and stood up on my own, brushing off the wet mix of pebbles and dirt from the butt of my rain jacket.

"Leah." I said carefully. I'd never seen this guy before. He was easygoing and happy, but I didn't want to let my guard down. I'd already done that once and look where it'd gotten me.

He stood with his hands shoved into the pockets of his cut-off jeans. He wore a grey wife-beater. _How could he not be cold?_ I shivered involuntarily. It reminded me of Taylor, Christi and their friends, they were never cold.

"Sorry if I scared you," he offered, "I saw you sitting alone and wanted to make sure you were ok."

"You're not from around here are you?" I asked slowly. Everyone in town knew that Taylor, Christi, and I had been inseparable. They all also knew that I had been disowned. No one paid any more attention to the blank expression I kept spread across my face.

"No," he said with a smirk, "Nanwalek."

The familiar name brought back a flood of memories. It was a day on this very beach, months ago that Taylor had told me about the kids from Nanwalek. He had used the word "jerks".

I stiffened. "Nanwalek?" I asked suspiciously.

He laughed nervously, "So they told you huh?"

I raised my eyebrows.

"What we are?" he was suddenly serious.

"Yeah, I believe the word they used was 'jerks'."

He broke out in hysterical laughter. "Jerks?" he managed to get out, before another wave of laughter silenced him.

"Well," he said stepping over the log to stand closer to me, "That's a relief."

There was something strangely familiar about Tony. It hit me, as he positioned himself in front of me. He was hot. Like literally, hot. The heat was rolling off him in waves and it felt good on my cold, red nose and cheeks. Suddenly, the cut-off shorts made perfect sense. I thought I'd been rid of everything that reminded me of "Taylor's gang."

I stiffened. "You're not cold?" I asked, almost mockingly.

He looked me in the eye, all humor gone from his face. He narrowed his eyes, looking hard into mine. I looked back at him, confidently, and still annoyed. Apparently, he was happy with what he found—or didn't find—and looked away.

He looked over to the right, farther north, from where he'd come out of the trees, like he was expecting something.

"Crap," he breathed. A few seconds later, out of the tree line glided four tall, muscular figures, one of them feminine. As they got closer, I could see the detail of their faces more clearly. They were all beautiful, tall, and ripped. One of them, the tallest and most muscular one, wore only cut-off sweats. The rest of them wore similar ensembles.

Tony shot me a worried glance before hurrying quickly to stand next to the only girl. I stared with my mouth hanging open at the small group, they all had severe looks on their faces and they reminded me too much of the posse that had rejected me.

I saw Tony step up to a young man standing at the front. He looked to be about twenty. Tony whispered something in his ear, and I saw the man nod his head. Tony slid back into place beside the girl and the man stepped forward.

"Leah is it?" he said. I assumed from the authority in his voice, and the fact that he was the one talking, that this man was the leader.

I nodded my head still too stunned to speak. Was this really going to happen again?

"Well, I'm Koda, and this is my… well, I guess you could call it… my pack."


	12. C12: Our Little Secret, Sounds Ominous

**12. Our Little Secret... Sounds Ominous.**

I laughed as Tony told yet another joke.

It felt good to laugh again, after a month and a half of gloomy silence, it was nice to smile and relax.

I was amazed at how quickly my life had done a complete one-eighty.

Last week I had been completely unsure of the cluster of unusually tall, muscular, and beautiful people before me. They all looked alike, like they could be siblings. Even when they stood, they looked graceful. They were all almost feline in the way that they moved. Smooth and fluid motions; they never hesitated and never stumbled.

Today we sat on the beach, laughing and chatting like old friends.

That first day, Koda had gone on to explain that they were from Nanwalek. I was introduced to everyone and found that I liked them all very much.

The tall, muscular one was Max, he was loud and obnoxious, but funny and sweet. Brady was fifteen; the youngest, skinniest, and the quietest. I'd only spoken a few words to him; he was extremely mature for his age and liked to observe. Tony was average in height and build—compared to the others at least—and had taken a special liking to me. I liked him too; he was easy going and funny. He reminded me of Taylor, but instead of making me miss him more, he seemed to ease the pain. The girl's name was Delia. She was small and petite, well compared to her friends, yet firm, and only about six months older than me. She was set in her ways and spoke her mind. I liked her.

I was surprised to learn that, apart from being a group of friends, they were all connected. Tony and Brady were brothers, Delia was their cousin, and Max was dating Delia. It sounded like a cheesy soap opera to me.

Max had laughed when Delia had introduced him as her boyfriend. Apparently, they thought that "dating" wasn't a strong enough word; although I couldn't fathom why. The word sounded pretty serious to me.

Just a week later, we sat talking like we had known each other for a lifetime instead of just seven days. Tony, Koda and I sat on an old, rotted log while Max, Delia, and Brady stretched out on the rocky sand.

I found it unusually easy to talk to the small group of five and, after a little prompting; I had spilled my heart and soul out to them. I told them everything, about Mom and her job, Taylor and Christi and their untimely betrayals, and my last dark month. I had shivered at the last part, and Tony inched closer to me.

I stiffened, he was _very_ close, but he was warm, and it felt good against my red, icy skin.

When I had finished my story, I saw Brady scowl. He made a noise that came from the back of his throat.

"Augh, I hate those guys," He spat. "They're nothing but a bunch of mangy mutts."

My mouth dropped open and I couldn't help but stare. His sudden outburst had shocked me. Brady was usually so quiet. I shifted uncomfortably as he continued to bash my ex-friends. Even though they had disowned me, it still hurt to hear them talked about in such a harsh manner.

Tony saw the pain in my face and looked pleadingly at Koda who quickly cut Brady off. Brady shut his mouth quickly, glaring back at his brother.

Max quickly changed the subject, and before long, the uncomfortable outburst was forgotten. It felt natural to be around my strange new friends. They reminded me of Taylor's crew, yet different. This group seemed more relaxed, more carefree.

We chatted mildly for a while, enjoying the rainless sky. It was cloudy, but dry. Suddenly, Koda's beautiful face became serious.

"Leah," he said slowly. I looked down from the grey sky to look at him.

"Yeah?" I asked, concerned by his solemn expression.

"You can't tell anyone about us." He said slowly, thinking carefully about the words as he said them.

"What do you mean?" I asked, just as carefully.

"I mean, you know what people told you before. We aren't welcome here. If people find out you've been talking with us and meeting us here, we'll _all _get into big problems. All this to say, let's just keep this our little secret. No need to mention it to anyone, right?"

"Yeah, no problem. Our secret." I said slowly. It sounded odd to me, but it wasn't like I had anyone to talk to anyways, so I let it go.

And so the weeks passed, and our "little secret" was kept. I spent all my free time with my new friends. We talked and joked; a relaxing break from the past months of stress and worry. Tony even tried to teach me to surf, but it proved to be too strong a reminder of all I had lost.

A few weeks after the surfing fiasco, about a month after our monumental meeting we were all seated in our discrete little corner of the beach.

"Hey! Why don't we take her to the cabin?" suggested Tony, "I know Niky'll love to meet her."

Everyone agreed, and a few minutes later we were all piled into Max's rusty old truck, headed off to some unknown location. I made a mental note to ask Max to take a look at the Trooper; he was great with cars.

Gram and Gramps were elated at my sudden change in attitude, which made me think that they wouldn't be _that_ upset about my new friends. They avoided asking questions, which made things easier for me. However, true to my word, I kept my mouth shut.

We drove about fifteen minutes, south, past town until we were soon driving on a deserted, bumpy dirt road; trees thickly lined both sides of the narrow way. I was totally lost. After about twenty minutes of jostling along, we burst through the trees into a small clearing. A tiny, weatherworn cabin stood in front of us.

It was clean, yet obviously old. The window to the left of the door was boarded up and several of the floorboards on the porch were loose, but the place looked inviting none the less.

There were flower boxes in the windows and a rose bush crept up the side of the house. A small cloud of smoke puffed out the stone chimney, and as we all fell out of the truck, the door opened, and a lovely, young woman stood in the doorway.

She was skinny and petite with dark brown, reddish hair and golden skin. The combination was stunning. She smiled a bright, welcoming smile as Koda walked up the steps, gathered her in his arms, and kissed her full on the mouth.

The guys whoo-hooed and hollered, and I heard Delia tell them to "get a room" as we filed into the house. Koda pulled away and took the girl's hand as they followed us inside. The girl was blushing, and she looked even smaller next to Koda's massive form.

"I'm sorry," she said to me, leaning into Koda, "I didn't see you there."

The others laughed and then walked through a small door on the back wall.

Koda chuckled as he turned to me, "This is my wife." He explained, beaming with pride as he gazed down passionately as his bride.

"Niky." She said as she held out her hand. "And this," she said, motioning with her arms, "is our home."

I looked around me. The room we were in now was a little living room. A fire blazed to my left, and I was amazed at how they'd managed to fit two fold-out couches, an arm chair, a coffee table, hope chest, and an old rocking chair into the tiny space.

Niky blushed as she turned to fold up a red blanket that laid on one of the couches.

"I didn't know you were coming," she said, shooting a playful glare at Koda, "I would've cleaned up a little."

He laughed, and pulled her through the doorway, motioning for me to follow.

We walked into the tiny kitchen. A small table lined the wall to my left, with dark cabinets and counters covering the wall to my right.

The four others were already crammed around the table, with two vacant chairs. Koda sat down and Niky perched herself neatly on his lap. Tony patted the empty chair next to him.

I sat down slowly, observing my surroundings. The kitchen was light and cheery. At the back wall, a Dutch door led outside. The top half was open, revealing a beautiful garden.

"Do you all live here?" I asked.

Niky giggled. "They might as well."

"We all crash here sometimes," explained Max.

"The rest of us live in town," added Delia as she scooted her chair closer to Max's.

Just then, a sharp ding filled the small, cozy kitchen. Niky stood up quickly and hurried over to a small oven. She carefully pulled out a steaming pan. She placed the hot apple pie on the table. Everyone around me eyed the pan greedily, all but Koda, who looked lovingly as his young wife.

I smiled, and then looked at my hands, folded neatly on the table. I glanced up to find Tony staring at me. His expression was strange, like he was looking for something in my face.

Tony and I had become extremely close in the past month. He had been one of the few things that kept me stable and sane. I had trusted him with just a bit more than the others; he was the only one who knew how I really felt about Taylor. I still missed Taylor and Christi, but with Tony by my side, the pain didn't burn so much.

We sat and chatted for a few hours. I liked Niky. She was sweet and funny.

Finally, I asked the question that had plagued my mind since we'd arrived.

"Where are we?" I asked casually.

Delia giggled as Brady answered. "We're about ten miles north of Nanwalek."

Nanwalek was about thirty miles south of Tyonek.

"We're twenty miles from home?" I asked slowly, trying to disguise the panic I could feel building. I knew Gram and Gramps would be upset if they found out about _this_. _Taylor would be mad too_. I silenced this thought as quickly as I could. Taylor had left me. He didn't care who I hung out with or what I did. I was no longer his problem. I looked at the laughing group sitting around me. These were my friends now.

This was my new place in the world.


	13. C13: Oh! Wanna Rip Out My Heart Again?

**13. Oh, I'm Sorry! Did You Wanna Rip Out My Heart Again?**

I still saw Taylor as school; although he now sat up front in English, and I sat alone at a table on the other side of the cafeteria during lunch.

I tried to look at _their_ table as little as possible, but still, it was hard to resist a peak every now and then. They all seemed to have grown even more. Taylor was _still_ breathtaking, and my heart _still_ stuttered when I looked at him, and a lump _still_ rose in my throat every time he smiled. Time and distance had done nothing to cure my love for him, or my longing for him to love me too.

Whenever I let my emotions get the best of me, I would concentrate on what I would do after school. I had fallen into a pleasant little routine. I would get home and sit outside in the car port and do homework while Tony and Max worked on the Trooper. Although, we had to be careful and plan it well, we could only do this the days that Gram and Gramps were at the store.

Then, after homework, we would meet up with everyone at the beach. On the days that they would ditch—this seemed to happen every once in a while—Max would drop me off at Niky and Koda's house before going back to rendezvous with the others.

On these days I would help Niky cook meal after meal, and bake cake after cake for the five bottomless pits, who, at the end of the day, would come stumbling into the cozy kitchen, laughing and complaining for food.

I loved the turn my life had taken. Niky and I had become close friends, and it felt wonderful to be able to have a woman's advice. I still slipped, and thought about Taylor when I was with them, and how much I missed him—the five feverish bodies crammed into the tiny kitchen were an unwelcome reminder at times—but regardless, I felt wanted, and that was enough for me.

The last time I'd felt truly sorry for myself was a month before. Niky and I had been alone in the house, and I had told her my story. She hadn't reacted as strongly as Brady had; although, her distaste for my ex-friends and their posse had been plain on her lovely face.

A few months later, on my nine month anniversary in Tyonek, I walked into the cafeteria. I got my tray of food and, routinely, shuffled over to my small table on the far right wall of the lunch room. I glanced to my right, and was surprised to find that the group was not sitting at their table. They always beat me to lunch; I wondered what was different today.

I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly, trying to expel all thoughts of _them_ from my mind. I turned my attention back to my lunch and focused on eating my sandwich. Bite, chew, swallow; bite, chew, swallow; bite, chew, swallow.

A few minutes later, the cafeteria door burst open. A familiar, silvery laugh touched my ears. And before I could stop myself, I had turned my head to look at Christi.

She was laughing and talking with the smallest one—I still didn't know all their names. But it wasn't that which caught my eye.

On Liam's arm was a small, slender girl. My mouth dropped open.

Her name was Rory, she was new and I'd talked to her only a handful of times; she was in my history class. She'd never talked to any of these guys before, and yet here she was, hooked on the _leader's_ arm, laughing and talking like she was one of them.

Despite the difference in size—she must've been at least a foot and a half shorter than the almost seven foot Liam—it looked natural and right, like she truly belonged with him.

I watched helplessly as she turned to talk to Taylor. He said something, and then smiled his dazzling smile, his eyes shone and I thought I'd never seen him look so beautiful. She punched his arm lightly and then gazed up at Liam.

As they reached the table, she pulled her chair up next to Christi and chatted excitedly with her. I saw Christi lean over and whisper something in Rory's ear before both girls laughed animatedly. Liam never stopped touching her. If he wasn't holding her hand, then he had his arm around her shoulder, and if his arm wasn't around her shoulder, he was running his fingers through her dark, long, silky hair.

My head started to swim, there were too many emotions rushing through my system. Anger. Betrayal. Jealousy. Sadness. Self pity. I was frozen where I sat. I watched as Liam looked down at Rory with a look of loyalty and love I'd seen only twice before. It was the same look I saw every day in Koda and Maxes' eyes when they looked at the loves of their lives.

As they all settled themselves into their seats Taylor looked my way. The shock must have been evident on my face because his expression turned sympathetic.

That's when I snapped.

I stood up slowly, replacing the shock and betrayal I could feel plain on my face with a calm, neutral mask. I walked slowly across the room to the cluster of trash cans in the center. I could feel Taylor's eyes on me, waiting to see what my reaction would be to their newest member.

I dumped my half eaten lunch into the trash. Then, with all the strength I could muster, I slammed my tray down on the top of the trash can, as hard as I could.

The result was an ear-piercing _smack_ followed by an insane silence. I could feel ninety-four pairs of eyes watching me as I walked towards the door.

I stole a quick look at Rory as I walked past the now serious and silent group. They all knew exactly what was going on. Rory's eyes were filled with pity and understanding. I wanted to punch her.

Instead, I walked calmly through the double doors. I turned to my left and leaned with my back against a wall of lockers, and slid slowly to the floor.

There, in the middle of the vacant hallway, I hugged my legs against my chest, buried my face into my knees, and sobbed.


	14. C14: When The Going Gets Tough,,,

**14. When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Pout.**

I decided to ditch the rest of the day. With my eyes red and puffy, I walked home in the rain.

I unlocked the door and dropped my book bag onto my bed. I shrugged out of my wet jeans and searched for a pair of dry ones. I pulled them on and frowned. They used to be long on me, they fit perfectly now. I shrugged and slipped on my moccasins, nothing mattered at this point.

I grabbed my rain jacket and stumbled down to the beach. No one was there yet, I was two hours earlier than usual. The rain had stopped and I laid my jacket down on the wet ground and sat on it. I sat cross-legged with my elbows resting on my knees and held my head in my hands. I was pouting.

Two peaceful tears rolled down my face and dropped onto my pant legs, leaving dark spots.

It wasn't fair! Why was Rory allowed to be their friend—no, more than that!—Liam's _girlfriend_. If anyone deserved to be with them, it was me. _I_ was Taylor and Christi's best friend. _I_ had kept them company. _I_ had helped Christi pass her biology tests, and supported her when she had a crush on a jerk.

_I_ was more in love with Taylor than Rory could ever be with Liam.

It was obvious to anyone that Rory wasn't like them. She didn't have the flawless skin or striking features, she was pretty, sure, but nothing compared to the rest of them. She was short and thin, not tall and fit like the others. She was average.

The tears streamed faster down my face.

What did she have that I didn't? Why wasn't I good enough? What had I done to be kicked out of their group before I was even fully accepted?

The silent tears continued to flow. I never sobbed, never made a sound, but inside I was screaming.

Suddenly, hands were wrapped around my waist. I jumped and looked to my left, relieved to find it was only Tony.

I brushed the tears quickly away. None of my new friends had ever seen my cry before, and I preferred to keep it that way.

"You miss him." It wasn't a question.

I shivered and nodded as he pulled me into his feverish arms. I laid my head on his warm shoulder and the tears started again. I exhaled a shaky breath. He laid his head on mine and we sat in silence.

For the first time, Tony's presence did nothing to lessen the pain.

I had regained composure by the time the others arrived. My face was no longer red and my eyes had dried. Tony and I were talking quietly when everyone walked up. They sat down and happily joined into the conversation. I was thankful to Tony for not mentioning anything about the happenings of this afternoon.

After a while the guys and Delia had to go, but instead of going to the cabin with Niky I decided to stay home. They all watched me, brows creased as I slowly turned around and walked down the beach towards the house. I'd never declined an afternoon with my friends.

Tony fell into step beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder as he whispered into my ear.

"Do you want me to stay and keep you company?" He offered softly. He understood.

"I don't know." I sighed. I was exhausted, and all I really wanted to do was cry some more.

He nodded his head and made sure I got safely to the door before sprinting quickly back to the others who had followed behind us at a distance, waiting to see what would happen. I watched from the door as they all huddled around him, trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

I shook my head and walked into the house. I leaned against the door, too tired to move. A few tears slipped down my face again and I sighed.

_I'd better get it all out of my system now_ I thought; I didn't want to be crying when Gram and Gramps got home.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been sitting there on the floor, but it was dark out when I woke up and I could hear voices outside. I stood up quickly, the blood rushing to my head. I went through the house, flipping on the lights and then dropped off my jacket in my room.

I ran to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to help try to calm my swollen eyes. I walked into the kitchen the same time Gram and Gramps did.

Gramps raised his eyebrows when he saw my puffy face, but instead of voicing his questions, he walked quietly into the living room to watch a sports game. Gram too noticed, but like Gramps, kept quiet.

"How was school?" she asked slowly—suspiciously.

I sniffed once. "Good." I said, trying to sound cheery, but failing miserably.

She gave me one hard look, narrowing her eyes as if trying to read my problems off my face. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were filled with pity.

"I'm sorry." She whispered simply.

"For what?" I asked in quiet monotone.

"For this," she said, referring to the dead look on my face, "And for everything that had happened to you here. I feel responsible somehow."

She pulled me into a hug and held me. I was several inches taller—I had grown about four inches in the past ten months—and yet, I felt like a little girl again. My eyes pricked, yet no tears fell; I had cried myself dry.

I woke up the next morning with burning eyes, a throbbing head, and a stomach ache. I knew it was merely from all the sobbing I'd done yesterday—I would be fine after I'd had a shower and some food—but I decided to take advantage of the fact that I had a plausible excuse not to go to school, and watch someone else take my rightful place in the tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious group.

I shuffled to the kitchen and sat down at the table, holding my stomach. Gram looked over from the stove and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked. "You don't look very good."

"I don't feel very good, my stomach and my head hurt." I said feebly, hamming it up just a tad.

"Hmm," she frowned. She walked over to me and put her hand on my head. "Well, you don't have a fever, but you do look a little out of it. Why don't you stay home today? You haven't missed a day of school yet… you deserve a break."

I nodded slowly and then shuffled back to my room. I crawled back into bed and set my alarm for eight-thirty. Gram and Gramps would be gone by then, and then I could shower and go down to the beach.

I soon fell back asleep, and awoke only when Gram came in at a quarter to eight to tell me that they were leaving. I slept for another forty-five minutes before my alarm sounded.

I got up and went straight for the shower. My head was still pounding, but my stomach felt better, and I was a little less groggy.

I ate breakfast, grabbed a book and a blanket out of the hallway closet and walked down to the beach. It was grey today, a little windy, but dry. I set the blanket on the moist sand and started to read. The time flew by, and after a few hours, I set the book down and rolled onto my back. I let the sound of the waves relax me as I laid on the beach, trying hard not to think about what tomorrow would bring.

I woke up a few hours later, shivering. My clothes and hair were damp from the ocean spray and the sky was a little darker. I gathered up my things and hurried up to the house. I changed out of my wet clothes and into warm, dry ones. I threw the blanket into the dryer, along with my clothes, and then plodded into the kitchen.

My stomach growled impatiently as I opened up the small fridge, looking for something to eat. It was already one o'clock, which meant that the guys would be down at the beach in a few hours. I planned to go back down when I was done eating. The fresh air and sound of the waves seemed to help clear my mind of all unpleasant thoughts.

I found a slice of pizza and slipped it onto a plate. I put it in the microwave and waited for my lunch to be ready. I leaned against the counter and stared off into space, not really seeing the wood floor, but instead, the faces of Rory, Liam, Christi, and Taylor.

The phone rang out, causing me to jump. I creased my forehead. No one called the house very often, and those who did call would know that Gram and Gramps would be at the shop, and would think that I was at school.

I took the one necessary step over to the phone and picked it up slowly.

I cleared my throat. "Hello?" I asked slowly, almost cautiously.

I heard the sound of large crowd in the background, but no voice answered. Then the line went dead.

"Hello?" I asked again, "Gram?"

Nothing. Complete silence. I frowned at I set the phone down carefully on the cradle. Just then, the microwave beeped, interrupting my thoughts.

I pulled out the steaming plate and sat down in the booth, pondering the odd phone call. If I had been back in California, I would've thought it a prank call. I wouldn't have put it past some of my less mature guy friends.

But I didn't know anyone like that here. I didn't talk to anyone at school, and Tony and the group wouldn't do anything like that, besides, they didn't even know my phone number, there had never been a need.

I shrugged, and then pushed the insignificant subject out of my mind. I ate slowly, taking small, careful bites and chewing thoroughly before swallowing, wishing the time would pass more quickly. I wanted to see my friends; I was getting lonelier and more depressed by the minute.

I took my time washing my plate, deliberately rinsing away every tiny bit of evidence of my meal and then carefully drying every drop of water off the smooth surface. I put the plate away and then stood in the middle of the tiny kitchen, wondering what else I could do.

When there was nothing left to do, I decided to go back to the beach; my mind was getting too cluttered. I grabbed the now dry blanket out of the dryer and walked back down to my hidden little corner of Grey Wolf Beach.

I sat down and stared out at the dark waves, thinking about the most random things. The time passed quickly by. After a while, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned around only to find Tony's massive shape standing behind me. I smiled. He was always growing.

He sat down and we talked casually, carefully avoiding the sensitive subject of Taylor and Christi. He wondered what I was doing home today, and I told him that I wasn't feeling well.

He looked me up and down, and the disbelief was obvious on his face.

I ignored his obvious doubt and picked up the conversation, changing the subject.

Before too long, everyone arrived in Max's truck. They all piled out and we all greeted each other enthusiastically. We laughed and talked for hours before all climbing back into Max's truck to go eat at Koda and Niky's.

As we all squished around the tiny table in the even tinier kitchen a thought popped into my mind. Here I sat, joking and talking with my friends as if yesterday never happened.

These were truly my best friends, I knew that none of them would ever betray me or let me down. The hole that Christi and Taylor had left was covered up for now.

This was my refuge, here I felt safe, untouchable. Here, in the warm kitchen, I almost felt like no one would ever hurt me again.

_Almost._


	15. C15: Cupid: Learn How to Aim!

**15. Cupid: Learn How to Aim**

I spent most of my time in the warm shelter of Niky and Koda's kitchen and Grey Wolf Beach. Gram and Gramps had practically taken over the tackle shop; I couldn't remember the last time they'd been at the house when I got home from school.

Since the day Rory first turned my life topsy-turvy a few others had decided to help her. A new boy had joined ranks with Taylor and Liam, he was a freshman and I had seen him before. His name was Bay, and he used to be just as wary of the intimidating group as everyone else, but now, he was one of them.

Bay had grown tall and fit, and moved with a grace beyond his years, although he had a boyish face that the others lacked.

The fact that he had joined their little clan didn't bother me. He was young, and it was strangely obvious to everyone that he was where he truly belonged.

But with him he brought a girl of his age. Her name was Madison. Another average teenage girl was welcomed into their little gang.

A week later, Kaya, a sophomore, was found glued to Ross's side. I grinded my teeth and screamed at them in my head; however, there was nothing I could do about it.

The two new girls apparently had something that I didn't, couldn't, and wouldn't ever have. The thought hurt, but I held my mask carefully in place. I couldn't make a scene every time they decided to stab me in the heart.

I watched day after day as Rory, Kaya, and Madison bonded not only with each other, but with Christi as well. I watched as Taylor laughed and joked with the others and playfully argued with Rory.

Try as I did to avoid learning the names of the others,—I didn't want to hear about them—with the four new additions people gossiped, and names spread.

The original four—before I knew Taylor was involved with them, and before Christi had done her one-eighty—were Liam, the leader; Ross, the most muscled, he was in my History class; Collin, he was a sophomore and the one I'd caught mouthing something to Taylor the day that he'd run out of the cafeteria in a blur, Collin had also been the youngest until Bay joined; and finally, Kai, who was quiet and average, he merely blended in with the others, nothing extraordinary unless you count his insanely good looks, tall stature, and amazing body.

And now, with Christi, Taylor, and the "girlfriends" they were happier than ever.

Their little group now consisted of six unnaturally gorgeous boys—who actually looked more like men—one girl with beauty that any supermodel would sell her soul for, and three average teenage girls.

My Nanwalek friends were my only comfort, Tony especially. I fell into the habit of bringing my homework, along with a blanket, down to the beach and doing my homework with him.

The school in Nanwalek got out an hour and a half earlier than Tebughna High, and so he was always there, waiting for me with open arms and ears. I spilled my heart and soul out to him. He was an amazing listener, and I trusted him with anything and everything.

The day that Ross had brought Kaya into the group I had stormed down to the beach, ready to take my fury out on the closest thing and/or object. Unfortunately, Tony had been standing next to me.

He listened cool and calm as I yelled and screamed, throwing out insults and bashing everyone I knew, and insulting people's mothers before collapsing sobbing and apologizing into his arms.

He held me, running his fingers through my hair and accepting my apologies, insisting that he understood and I was forgiven.

I was sure that he wouldn't be there the next day, but like clockwork, he was waiting patiently with a beautiful smile on his lips. As we sat and worked, I again apologized for the things I had said the previous afternoon. He pulled me into his feverish arms, and told me, for the hundredth time, that I was forgiven, and he knew that I was hurting.

It felt wonderful to have someone who understood.

About two wantweeks later, Tony and I were sitting on a blanket, talking, when Koda, Niky, and Brady came walking down the beach. I leaned around Tony while he twisted his body to see what I was looking at.

"Where are Max and Delia?" I asked Tony.

"I don't know…" he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Koda and Niky were holding hands and Brady had a goofy smile on his face. He jogged the last couple yards before throwing himself onto the blanket beside us. Koda and Niky followed slowly behind and then perched themselves on the log to our right.

"What going on?" I asked, referring to Brady's growing grin.

Niky smiled wider and Koda squeezed her hand.

"Max is proposing to Delia! Right now!" Burst Brady. The words came out in such a rush that I barely understood them.

"What?" I asked, smiling too as I sat up straighter. "Really? That's great!"

Koda wrapped his arm around his wife and Tony laughed.

We continued to chat animatedly about the good news until we saw Max's familiar old truck pull up. We watched excitedly as the happy couple climbed out, holding hands and laughing. Delia came running and jumping down the small incline, holding up her left hand.

She hurried over to Niky and I and stretched out her hand, wriggling her ring finger.

"Look!" she squealed.

It was a beautiful, simple, thin, white-gold band with a small dazzling sapphire set gracefully on top. It looked beautiful on her dark, slender finger.

"I'm engaged!" she exclaimed, hugging both Niky and I closely. "And," she continued, "I want _both _of you to be my maids of honor."

She stretched her graceful hand out in front of her. "It was his grandmother's," she said softly. "I'm getting married." She sighed.

A single tear of overwhelming happiness slipped down her flawless face.

A few weeks later, Brady showed up with his new girlfriend.

The more I got to know Brady, the more his calm, shy exterior had melted away and the more he was like his big brother. He was still several years more mentally mature than Tony, but they shared the same hilarious sense of humor and sweet personality, not to mention their carefree attitudes.

I was surprised by the fact that they were already dating. I had only heard the girl mentioned only once before and even then he hadn't mentioned her name.

I watched Brady's tall form walking down the beach with his long arms wrapped delicately around the waist of a slender female figure. As they walked slowly towards us, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Brady had found his love; it was obvious the moment he looked into her eyes.

They walked over and sat down; the girl shyly lowering her gaze to stare at the sand. A proud grin spread across Brady's face as he introduced the girl as "my Laura".

She was beautiful. The only people I'd ever seen more stunning than Laura were Christi and Delia, but it was obvious to anyone that those two weren't exactly… normal.

Laura gave me a soft smile before sitting back between Brady's legs, leaning against his chest. He carefully kissed her lightly on the head before delicately wrapping his arms around her. He looked like he was afraid to break her.

He rested his head on hers and a pang of jealously shot through my body. I wasn't jealous that Laura was dating Brady—he had become like a little brother to me—but of their intense love, despite their young age. It was plain to see by the look in their eyes and the way that they gravitated around each other. This was no crush.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, ashamed at my thoughts. They deserved to be happy. Tony slipped his arm around me. He understood.

Tony had become very good at reading my expressions and could tell exactly when I was missing Taylor, lonely, or just wanted to let off some steam.

The days passed and I was surrounded by so much "love" it was ridiculous.

Tony and I remained the only singles in the group, and it was apparent that the feelings that the remaining members had for their partners was something much stronger than love. It was almost intimidating.

I thought little of my own love life. The only person I had ever thought I had a possibility with had left me, and I felt like I could never love anyone but him.

The only other man in my life was Tony. I felt a strong love for him, although it more brotherly than anything. He had become my best friend and my confidante.

One cold Saturday afternoon, alone at the beach, I decided to take advantage of the quiet and catching up on my reading. I was in the middle of a chapter when a dark shadow fell on the page. I looked up to see Tony smiling down at me.

I scooted over, and patted the space of blanket beside me. Having his hot figure beside me, I realized how cold I was, and shivered involuntarily. He slid closer to me and wrapped his arms around my torso, holding me warm and tight against his hot chest.

The first time Tony had held me like this I had stiffened and pulled away. It was so intimate, I'd thought it inappropriate. Anyone on the outside would've thought we were dating.

It didn't bother me now. I thought of it as strictly brotherly.

However, Niky and Laura seemed determined to make me fall for Tony. The conversations got extremely uncomfortable at times, mainly due to the fact that I would trick myself into thinking that I felt something for him.

I knew that I was just confusing myself, and yet, the rest of the day, a shock would shoot through my body every time he smiled at me.

Niky had said something to me about a month ago, commenting on the way Tony looked at me. I couldn't deny the fact that his looks were tender, but I had always thought them as brotherly, he was my protector. That following week I had blushed and looked away every time our gazes met.

I leaned my head against his burning neck, he held me closer. Even now I still wondered; could he feel more for me than I did for him?

My stomach fluttered and my heart stuttered.

I tried to ignore the recurring thought and my flittering insides as we chatted casually. Besides, even if he did feel something for me, nothing could ever happen; I was still waiting for the day that Taylor would take me back. But still, sitting on the beach, with his hot arms wrapped around my chilled body, looking at his gorgeous face, my mind was filled with the question:

_Why not?_


	16. C16: Congratulations?

**16. Welcome to the Family, Or Not**

"_Sometimes you have to learn to love what's good for you."_

The thought planted itself in my mind with roots that ran deep and strong. I was completely and utterly confused. How could I like Tony when I was still madly in love with Taylor? Even though I knew he wasn't coming back, I still dreamed and hoped. And maybe, just maybe, someday, he would see how long I had been waiting for him, and take me back. I knew that this scenario was hopeless, and that Tony was what was good for me, but the thought of taking things a step further scared me, and seemed almost a little too weird.

Naturally Niky and Delia only fed the flame, and after about a month, I was crushing. I knew from the start it was a bad idea, but resistance seems so futile.

My plan was this: I would abbreviate the amount of time I spent thinking about Taylor. It wouldn't be easy; I knew that much, especially during school, but luckily the school year would be over in about a month.

If I ever wanted to be free of this haunting depression, I had to follow through with my plan; and the sooner the better.

When I shared my plan with Niky and Delia, they agreed and supported me whole heartedly, although their opinions were a little bias, they hadn't exactly made their desires for me to be with Tony a secret.

And so with my new girl friends supporting me all the way, I started out on my new task. I kept my gaze focused on Mr. King in English, and stared at my food during lunch. I watched where I was walking instead of the people around me and studied the pulpit and stain glass windows at church.

Two weeks passed and I had only looked at him twice, which had set me back only a tad. I was doing well, and it was nice having the girls help me. But despite my struggle, I could do nothing to curb my subconscious.

At night the dreams flooded back, more vivid than ever. Sometimes I woke up hyperventilating after reliving the abandonment I had felt when Taylor and Christi had walked out of my life. And sometimes I woke up crying, having remembered his gentle face, his deep voice, the way he had teased me, and the feeling of his strong hands mussing my hair.

The days when I dreamed the latter were the hardest. When I dreamed of when he had left me, it helped to remind me of my mission. But on the nights when my dreams were filled with his fiery heat, strong arms, and smooth voice, those were the days I struggled. How could someone who had made me feel so complete, so worthwhile, done so much damage?

I took my task day by day and slowly but surely Tony began to cover my missing piece, not fill it, but cover it, so that to anyone on the outside, it would appear to be gone. But I still knew. I could never love anyone the way I had loved Taylor. Even though I had known him in so little time, I just _knew_. I had felt an uncontrollable need to be with him and talk to him, like a magnetic pull.

But that part of my life was over. I would probably always remember him, and the piece would always be missing. He was the missing part of me, but it didn't matter anymore.

About two months after my monumental decision, I sat on the beach, staring at the water, thinking about everything but Taylor. School had been out for about a month now, and I only had about a month before it all started again.

Tony's familiar shadow fell over me, blocking what little sunlight filtered through the dark clouds. I smiled and scooted over, shivering as a gust of arctic wind hit my face. He pulled me close, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

My summer had been blissful so far. It was still cold, no matter what time of year, the weather didn't change much. Because it was summer and Gram and Gramps were still working at the store fulltime—I had just accepted the fact that they had pretty much taken over—Tony and I had all day together. We would meet in the morning and hang out until lunch; this helped with the whole, "loving what's good for you" vow I had taken. And slowly but surely, the crush had grown.

We sat and chatted for a while, I leaned against his chest, and he wrapped his arms strongly around me. He idly rubbed his large hand up and down my arm. I leaned my head back, and he rested his chin on my shoulder. When he talked, I could feel his warm, fresh breath on my neck and ear, and it sent chills up my spine. I shivered in delight, and Tony, thinking I was cold, pulled me even closer.

I smiled involuntarily and replied to the question he had asked. After a while, I began to notice his hand move lower down my arm, until it was resting on my wrist. A few minutes later and it had migrated to my hand where he was slowly moving his thumb back and forth over my fingers. He seemed to be waiting for an invitation from me. A sign telling him it was ok.

I took a deep breath, and moved my hand so that it was palm upwards. He laced his warm fingers through mine and gave my hand a squeeze. He pushed me slightly away from me and turned me around to see my face. He shot me a smile the size of Texas, before his face became serious.

"I want to get one thing clear before anything happens" he told me in a no-nonsense tone, which sounded weird coming from him. "I want to know where you stand with that Taylor guy," he cleared his voice,  
"and where you stand with me." He subtly squeezed my hand that was still intertwined with his.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of the right words to say. "Taylor and I haven't talked in months and I have a feeling that we probably never will again. You know what I felt for him, and I'm not sure if that feeling will ever truly go away."

"But?" he prompted.

"But," I paused. "I have to move on at some point."

"And my other question? Where do _we_ stand?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "What do you think?"

He thought for a moment, trying to word his answer correctly, "I think, I'm willing to give us a try." His warm smile was back, his eyes searching mine for a reaction.

The butterflies in my stomach went crazy, and my breath got caught in my throat.

"Me too, I think" I said softly.

He smiled even bigger, although I wasn't sure how that was even possible.

I smiled too; this was what I had been waiting for wasn't it?

"So what are we going to do about it?" I asked, a little coyly.

"I think, we should take things to the next level," He pulled me back into his feverish embrace. "If you're up for it." He added.

I thought for a moment. This was a big decision. Tony would be my first boyfriend, and that was a big step for me, and I had only been "Taylor-free" for about two months. I sighed and slowly nodded my head.

"Yes." I whispered.

I could feel him smiled against my shoulder, and then, he turned his head and lightly pressed his flaming lips to my neck. He pulled me tight as he kissed me, and then moved his mouth a little higher, to my ear. He pulled me close and whispered, so quietly I might have mistaken it for merely a breath, one of my most favorite quotes. "You have bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you."

I had read it to him one day, months ago while reading _Pride and Prejudice_. I couldn't believe he had remembered it.

I could feel the goose bumps rise over my arms and on the back of my neck and I squirmed my body closer to his. He kissed me one more time below my ear before resting his cheek on the top of my head.

I smiled. Could this really be happening to me? I decided to pinch myself, just to make sure. While we were still talking, I slowly moved the hand that wasn't intertwined with his to my arm, pretending to have an itch, then, as subtly as I could, pinched my arm with all my strength. Instead of waking up from whatever dream I thought I was having, I yelp and jumped, in addition to growing, I think I was getting taller too.

I turned around sheepishly as Tony raised his eyebrows.

"What just happened here?" he asked.

I felt the color rise to my cheeks. "Nothing" I said, a little too quickly as I swiftly turned back around so as not to see the amusement on his face.

He placed his head back by my ear and whispered, "You're not dreaming, silly." He then laughed his deep husky laugh before kissing my burning cheek and resting his chin back on my shoulder.

A while later he turned around.

"Here they are" he whispered softly against my hair, about thirty seconds before I even heard the truck.

I snuggled close to him, trying to enjoy our last few moments together before we would be bombarded by questions and Max's inevitable teasing.

Before too long, we were surrounded by our small group of friends. Brady had his arms wrapped around Laura's small frame and Delia and Niky simultaneously raised their eyebrows at me, referring to our position and interlocked hands.

Tony and I stood up, hands still together.

"Guys," Tony said, addressing our small crowd, "Leah and I have decided to take our relationship to the next level." He squeezed my hand and turned to smile at me.

I saw Koda's eyebrows shoot up and he glanced at me before turning his attention to Tony. "What do you mean Tony?" he asked, almost tensely, addressing him directly.

"I _mean_, Koda, that Leah and I have decided on entering into a relationship, a _romantic_ relationship." He clarified.

Niky, Delia, Brady, and Laura all smiled in approval, and the girls jokingly applauded and told us that it was "about time."

Koda and Max, however, exchanged wary glances. I furrowed my brow, wondering what could be wrong. But before I could dwell too long on the subject, Tony pulled me down into a sitting position next to Brady and Laura as Delia and Niky begged for the details.

Koda leaned down to Niky and informed her that he and Max would be right back.

"There's something we need to discuss" he told her, shooting a glance in my direction.

I watched the two massive forms walk away down the beach, and wondered what the heck was going on.

* * *

**Ok, so I know it's been like 349 years since i've posted anything. i've been super busy, like, CRAZY busy, and kind of stopped writing for a while. But i'm back! **

**...So i rewrote all of the origional chapters (nothing too drastic, just some tweaking here and there) and am currently working on 18... so we'll see what happens.**

**Thanks for those of you who are still reading this!!**

**bendiciones!**


	17. C17: Oh, Romeo

**17. Oh, Romeo.**

In the time that it took Koda and Max to have their little conversation, Tony and I had already told our story—twice. Delia, Laura, and Niky had insisted on hearing it from both points of view, and I couldn't help but notice that Tony looked a little smug when he told about quoting _Pride and Prejudice_. The girls patted his back and he looked even smugger. Niky and Delia boasted about how it was all their doing, that they were responsible for the "couple of the year, thank you very much". I just sighed and shook my head at them; I was too distracted by Max and Koda on the other end of the beach to pay too much attention.

I couldn't fathom why Koda would be upset, it was his wife, after all, who had convinced me to fall for Tony in the first place, why was it suddenly a problem? When the guys returned, muscles tense and expressions neutral, we all got up to go to the cabin. We all squished into Max's truck. The guys were constantly growing and, as I had begun to notice, was I, and every time we all piled in there seemed to be less and less room. Tony patted his legs and I perched myself on his lap, ducking my head so I wouldn't crash with the roof, he wrapped his hot arms around my waist. Laura and Brady did the same next to us, although Laura wasn't as tall, so it worked a little better for them. I chatted with Laura on the way, trying to ignore the obvious tension between Tony, and Koda who was in the passenger's in front of us.

Max had quickly shifted back into his normal, teasing self, although he said nothing about Tony and my announcement. Koda, however, was still tense and serious, gazing out the window, lost in thought.

When we finally reached the cabin, we all fell out of the truck and started up the stairs. Tony grabbed my hand and we fell into step behind the others. I hadn't noticed Koda and Max, hanging behind.

"Tony," Koda called in his low voice. It was drenched in authority, and Tony stiffened immediately. He grabbed my hand tighter and turned us around. "Alone." Koda clarified, his voice sounded even lower than before.

Tony reluctantly let go of my hand and kissed my forehead before turning me around and sending me to the stairs. I took them two at a time, looking over my shoulder as Tony slowly walked towards his friends. Koda stood with his legs apart, arms crossed. He looked like a father who was disappointed in his son.

Unfortunately, I reached the door the same time Tony reached the spot where Max and Koda stood waiting, and I couldn't delay any longer. I opened the door and walked into the cozy house. A delicious smell was already drifting from the kitchen. Niky and Laura gave me questioning looks as I entered alone, no sign of the boys behind me, but Brady and Delia squirmed in their seats.

I raised my eyebrows at Delia, who looked down as she met my suspicious expression.

"And the boys?" asked Niky casually from the counter where she stood stirring something in a huge plastic bowl.

"Um, their coming, I think." I said, staring at the table in front of me.

I watched as Brady and Delia now sat still in their seats. They seemed to be concentrating on something, but what it was I couldn't fathom. Instead of trying to figure out what was going on, I decided to try and play dumb.

I tried not to think about the last time I had tried to weasel myself into a situation. I had lost all that was important to me, and that couldn't, wouldn't, happen this time. Not now. Not when Tony and I had just begun dating. Not when I had amazing friends. Not when the only time I was reminded of the past was in my dreams. Life was as good as I was going to get, and I couldn't lose that again.

I started up a random conversation with Niky and Laura. I must've hit some growth spurt since moving to Tyonek, because all my pants were short on me. The only ones that I would still be seen in were two pairs that Mom had bought for me years ago. I'd never worn them before because they had always been big on me. They fit me perfectly now. I discussed plans for a shopping trip with the girls, ignoring the stabbing pain in my chest when I was reminded of similar plans I had made with Christi.

When the plans were set and the date was final, and the boys still hadn't returned I began to worry. Try as I might to suppress the escalating panic, it rose steadily in my gut, causing my stomach to churn nervously.

I glanced nervously at the clock. We had been back for over an hour and lunch was almost ready. Delia and Brady had hardly said anything—they had both been staring intently at the table ever since I'd walked into the kitchen—and the boys still hadn't come inside.

Delia and Brady had made eye contact a few times, and twice I saw a look of understanding cross Brady's face, like he had finally figured out the answer to a difficult algebra problem, or a riddle. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking.

Finally, the door squeaked open, and the three large figures filed in. Koda went directly to Niky, Max to Delia, and Tony to me, it was nice to no longer feel left out of their little love group. I noticed that there was still slight tension between Koda and Tony, although not as much as before. Koda looked at me with a look that resembled sympathy, but my eyes must've been teasing me. What did he have to sympathetic about? I settled on the teasing eyes theory and tried to relax.

Tony had pulled his chair close up behind mine, and I leaned back against him as he wrapped his arms around my middle. The tension and stress quickly dissolved as we all joked and laughed and waited for lunch to be done in the oven. When the timer rang out, my stomach growled impatiently, and I realized how hungry I really was.

In addition to my height, my appetite had also grown steadily. I could now eat about two times the normal amount a teenage girl should eat, but regardless, I didn't gain weight. Apart from the few pounds I had put on from the growth spurt, I actually seemed to be _losing_ weight.

My stomach had always been flat, I'd always been skinny, but it seemed to be more toned than before. I was confused at first, I hadn't been exercising at all—aside from gym, but then all we did was basketball, and I hardly ever played—but I decided that it didn't matter. If my stomach decided to be flat and form rock hard abs out of nowhere, and seemingly overnight, that was fine by me.

When Niky finally pulled the steaming lasagna out of the oven and set it on the table, my stomach was growingly loud enough for all to here. I blushed when they laughed at me, and Tony held me closer, his smooth, even laughter close to my ear. A chill of excitement rushed through my body and he laughed again.

I attacked the lasagna with full force. I ate and ate and ate, and yet I didn't feel full. Luckily, the others ate just as much as I did, so Niky had two more lasagnas waiting. We chatted lightly while lasagna number three finished cooking.

Koda had glanced at me only a few times, still with that strange echo of sympathy. I had made up my mind to ignore him and had merely smiled politely, innocently, every time our gazes met.

When we had all eaten and there wasn't much left to talk about, everyone spread out. Max and Delia went to the living room to sit on the couch and Brady and Laura drifted outback. That left Koda, Niky, Tony and I in the small kitchen. Niky was doing the dishes, and Koda got up to help her. Tony and I still sat in our seats in the corner.

"How about we go outside," he whispered in my ear, "get some privacy."

I nodded my head and we got up. Max nodded at Tony as we walked through the living room, hand in hand, and whistled as us as the door shut behind us. I smiled to myself, at least Max seemed to be getting back to normal. We wandered over to the edge of the trees and started slowly into the peaceful forest.

That was the one thing that California didn't have. Trees. I loved the pine trees that surrounded me on all sides. The smell of the forest after it rained, and the way the light filtered in, soft and muted through the leaves above our heads. It was relaxing, I thought.

We walked along a small trail as we talked, our feet sinking into the rich colored bark.

"So," I asked, forgetting the promise I had made myself not to get involved, "What were you talking about with Max and Koda?" I knew it wasn't any of my business, but I was just too curious for my own good.

He tensed, holding my hand a little tighter than before. "Nothing." He said quickly.

I raised my eyebrows slightly, but kept my mouth shut.

"I really don't want to talk about it. Koda's almost always right, but not this time." He seemed to be talking to himself now, reassuring himself of something.

I let it go, trying to bind myself, again to the promise I had made in the kitchen. I wasn't going to worry about it. If Tony said it was nothing, then it was nothing.

"So," I said, changing the subject. "Where are we going for our first date?" I shot him a teasing smile and his tense expression faded.

"How about we drive up to Ketchikan? We don't have to worry about getting in trouble and I can get Max to lend me the truck."

I smiled and nodded my head. A part of me, the greater part, was excited. But there was the smaller part of me that was sad. I was finally happy again, not as happy I had been, or could have been, but I was happy enough, and I couldn't share it with anyone. I couldn't tell Mom that I was dating Tony, she might say something to Gram, and if Gram and Gramps knew I was talking to, let alone dating, one of the boys from Nanwalek, they would probably have heart attacks.

I had kept my mouth shut when ever Gram and Gramps complained or bashed those who lived on the lower half of the island. They had some ancient tribal feud going on with those from Nanwalek, and nobody made it hidden. I had heard almost everyone in town speak sorely of my friends' people on more than one occasion.

I had gritted my teeth, and tried to ignore their nasty comments and horrible stories, but a small voice deep inside of me always wondered if there was any truth to their claims. Of course later that day, when we were tucked away in our little forgotten corner of Grey Wolf Beach I would feel guilty for those thoughts.

Of course they weren't true. How could they be "evil" or "slimy" or any of the other names I had heard?

As we walked peacefully through the trees I decided I would ask Tony, I knew he would tell me the truth.

"Ketchikan sounds nice," I said casually, laying the ground work. "Bummer we can't just hang out in town though huh? I've really been wanting to go to that café you guys talk about." I said, referring to the hangout I'd heard mentioned several times by my friends.

He looked down at me, furrowing his eyebrows. I never said stuff like that. He had asked me several times why I'd spent all my time alone at the beach. I told him that I didn't like to go into town, that people got on my nerves.

"Since when do you want to spend all day indoors, in a café, with people?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, it's just kinda a pain having to keep everything a secret you know?"

He clenched his jaw, and his eyes got tight for a second. "Yeah, I know." He said a slight edge to his voice.

I looked up at him, eyebrows raised. He relaxed then and smiled down at me. We veered off the path then, and I saw where he was leading us. A moss-covered log lay a few yards in front of us. He slipped out of his jacket and laid it on the fallen tree. His hand was hot around mine and I wondered why he had even been wearing a jacket in the first place.

"So um," I began awkwardly as we sat down. "Could you explain something to me? Please?"

He tensed. "Uh, sure." He said slowly, cautiously.

"Why are we supposed to hate each other so much?"

Tony relaxed, I apparently that wasn't the question he had been expecting.

"Well," he laughed, "do you want the short version or the long version?"

I thought about it for a second. "The short version." I'd heard enough tribal mumbo jumbo in the past few months to last me a life time. Of course, this was the only one everybody had failed to tell me.

"Ok, you asked for it, one extra short version of ancient tribal story come up." he said, and sat up straighter, turning to look at me. His joking face was now serious. I probably would have laughed at him if the odd feeling of importance hadn't hung so heavy in the air. I sat up straighter too, putting all my attention on Tony.

"Well," he began. Years ago, when our people had just come to the island, we were one tribe." He began, in a low, solemn voice. "The chief's name was Tolowa. Tolowa had three sons, the eldest, Eklutna, would be chief when his father passed on. When Tolowa's wife died, he remarried a widow who also had children by her deceased husband. One of her children, Hupta, was two years older than Eklutna. He claimed that since he was now a son of Tolowa, and older than Eklutna, he should inherit Tolowa's position of power, instead of his new half brother.

"Tolowa told his sons that it was up to them to decide who would be chief when Tolowa left this life. Eklutna claimed that since he was the oldest blood son, he should be chief, as was traditionally planned, but Hupta stood by his belief that since he was the oldest, he should inherit the village. Unfortunately there was no ancient story or law that addressed their dilemma, never in our history had this happened before.

"The brothers decided to settle their feud with a fight. The first to wound the other would win.

I cleared my throat and Tony smiled at my sheepish expression. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to voice my question.

"But what if they just killed each other, then the alive one could just take the power right?"

Tony laughed once, "You're so cute when you're impatient."

I scowled.

"Do you really want to know? It's kinda gross."

"Hit me with it, I'm a big girl."

He smiled his soft teasing smile before getting back into his serious character.

"They agreed on the day and each man cut his hand, they then clasped their hands to each other's forearm, pulling away slowly, leaving a smear of blood reaching from just below the elbow, down to the fingertips. This was an unbreakable promise, they could only wound the other, they could not kill."

I made a face.

"The two had told no one of their plan, and silently slipped off to the forest together. When they reached a clearing, far into the green woods, they dropped their things by the trees and drew their knives.

"And with that, the fight began. The two circled each other, knives poised, each ready to slice the other at the first open chance. They spent almost an hour swiping at each other, each jumping out of the way just in time. Then, the tables turned. Hupta mis-stepped, fell out of rhythm. Just when Eklutna thought he had Hupta cornered, Hupta manage to wriggle his way out of harm's way. Eklutna moved like lightning, and was able to slide to the right just before Hupta's backhanded jab would have caught him right in the side.

"As the sun started to set behind the water, coloring the sky pink and orange, Eklutna, with one last burst of energy, managed to whirl around behind his brother. He dropped his arm and sliced Hupta's calf with one smooth, fluid movement. The cut was deep, and Hupta let out a groan.

"Eklutna had won. The promise held true, Hupta could not kill his brother. There was only one thing left for him to do. He turned towards their packs and wrapped him leg up. He pretended to be putting something away as his brother came up beside him to put away his own knife.

""Good fight' Eklutna offered, holding out his hand. Hupta grasped it firmly, and as his brother pulled him in for a hug, clutched his knife and dug it deep into his brother's side. Eklutna reeled back, eyes wide.

"He wouldn't die, the promise still held true, and Hupta ran forwards, shoving the knife again and again into his brother's body, carefully avoiding his heart.

"Hupta, hands shaking, dragged his brother's torn and tattered body deep into the forest and fled. He stumbled into the village and ran to the hut where the council members met. His step-father sat in the middle of the hut around the fire, talking to several of the councilmen about the possible threat of a tribe who lived further north.

"Hupta ran in, uninvited, a taboo in the ancient Tebughna culture. Tolowa stood to chastise his step-son, but stopped when he saw the expressing on his face and his heavy breathing.

"'What has happened?' asked Tolowa, his low, authoritive voice was ringing with anxiety.

"'My brother', panted Hupta, 'we were in the woods, and out of nowhere a bear came and dragged him off into the woods. I tried to fight it, but it scratched me.' Hupta motioned to his still bleeding leg, he had ripped the bandage off on his way. Hupta's lie brought the council members to their feet.

"'Take me to the spot.' Tolowa said quickly.

"Hupta ran, his father following behind him, the council members hurrying behind their chief. When they reached the clearing, the air was silent. No birds were singing, no animals stirring. Silence. Tolowa walked slowly over to the bloodied grass. He crumbled to his knees, touching the red ground.

"The council members, who stood at the edge of the trees, behind Hupta, knelt in mourning. Hupta did the same, he even managed to shed a few tears for his brother, but the tears were as fake as his story had been.

"Inside he was rejoicing. As far as his people knew, his brother was dead, and he could assume position as chief without consequence or interference. He had only to wait until his step-father's passing, but he assumed that he wouldn't have to wait long. His father was old, and slowly but surely, his body had begun to shut down. Even now Hupta could tell that the short run here had been merely a product of adrenaline, and had exhausted the weeping figure before him. He wouldn't have to wait long at all.

"The people mourned the loss of Eklutna for three weeks, and according to the laws of mourning in the Tebughna culture, no one passed into the spirit world, therefore, Hupta's dark secret was kept. After the three weeks had passed, and everyone had fallen back into their daily routine, Tolowa summoned Hupta to his hut.

"'My son', Tolowa said, 'I am old, and I am left weaker after my son's death. I do not have the strength to lead the people. I am giving you my place. You are now chief.' Tolowa summoned the elders and council members of the tribe and an impromptu ceremony was held.

"Tolowa lived the next six months of his life in a deep depression, before passing into the afterlife.

"The funeral was held, and Hupta led his first raid. Hupta was a warrior, and his blood ran hot for the fight. He ordered attacks on other tribes, stealing goods and women. Soon, Hupta had four foreign wives, stolen from other tribes in the area.

"One night, after a particularly bloody battle, the village celebrated their victory with a feast. All the tribe sat in the middle of the village around a huge fire, listening intently as the men told stories of their recent battle.

"Suddenly, someone touched the chief's shoulder. Hupta turned around, and then wished he hadn't.

"The people gasped and Hupta fell down on his knees, shock and fear plain across his face.

"Eklutna walked slowly around Hupta until he was staring into his frightened face.

"The promise had not let him die, it had merely taken him many months to get better. But now he was healthy, and the rightful chief.

"'Leave.' He said slowly. 'Leave my village, and my people, and don't you ever come back.' Hupta cringed against the words of the true chief, words that he could not disobey.

"Hupta jumped up and ran, full speed through the throng of people towards his hut. The people gathered around Eklutna, touching him and asking him questions.

"Hupta had tried to show his gratitude at his brother's decision to let him live by giving him all his belongings, trying to make up for the people lost through his wars and at sunrise the next morning the village watched as Hupta, his wife, and children started on their way. The party walked south until they reached the southernmost tip of the island

"Soon, Hupta's friends and fellow brothers followed after him, and he had a small village of his own and appointed himself chief. They were now two tribes, never to be joined again. The southern tribe were called the Hoptali, and named their village-"

He waited for me to finish his sentence for him.

"Nanwalek" I said slowly, praying I wasn't wrong.

Tony's posture relaxed and he smiled at me.

"Wow, that was quiet a story there."

He smiled content with himself. "Thank you, thank you very much," he said, trying unsuccessfully to imitate Elvis."

"So you are a descendant of Hupta right? And I am somehow distantly related to Eklutna?"

He nodded once.

"So we have a whole forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet deal goin' on don't we?" I asked coyly, scooting closer to him.

He laughed once and pulled me close.

The story stayed with me for a while. But it wasn't the last part that interested me. It was the part about Eklutna. I felt so bad for the man. He had been robbed of his life. He had lost years because of his brother's selfishness. Eklutna had deserved to be chief.

Tony had not made his admiration for his ancestor hidden, and I was a little biased myself. So we had agreed not to talk about it. Besides, none of that mattered. We were living in the present, and we didn't need to worry about some story that happened a hundred years ago.

I wasn't too happy with the fact that my boyfriend was supposed to be my enemy; it kind of put a damper on the romance when I thought about it too much. So my solution was simple, I tried not to think about it, and before too long, I had almost forgotten about the story completely. The whole Romeo and Juliet scenario seemed so much more romantic when you weren't living it.


	18. Important AN

**A/N: Thanks to all of you who decided to check out my story. I would like to make a few things clear before you read any further.**

**This story is NOT about the Cullen's, I previously said that they would be referred to, but after editing parts of my story and figuring out where the plot was going, I decided that this would not work. So… THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE CULLENS…IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CULLENS.**

**If you like the werewolves stick around ;)**

**Warning****: The first few chapters move kinda slowly, and I'm sorry for that, but allow me to explain. I know my characters extremely well. I've been working on this for a while, and so I know what they look like, how they act, and their personalities. I want you guys to know them just as well as I do. So that's basically what the first few chapters consist of, getting to know the characters.**

**But please, give it a chance, I promise you that there's action, just be patient.**

**Thanks for those of you who have stuck with me this far, hang in there!**


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